Associations among Body Composition, Physical Fitness, and Injury in Men andWomen Army Trainees

摘要

Policies regulating the body composition of men and women in the military serviceare a matter of ongoing interest to the U.S. Army. Body composition is considered to be a component of a soldier's physical fitness, and in the Army's view, obesity is associated with being unfit and 'unsoldierly'. This association is important because physical fitness is an essential component of military readiness for combat. To be prepared for its combat mission, the Army attempts to select individuals with the fitness and stamina to endure the rigors of Army training and combat. Simply selecting fit men and women is not adequate, however, because physical training is necessary to both develop and maintain the fitness of soldiers. For physical training to be effective, however, it must overload cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. This overloading entails a risk of musculoskeletal injury. Thus an understanding of the interactions among body composition, physical fitness, training, and injuries is an essential foundation for policies governing both body composition and physical fitness.