Summary
Ninety to ninety-five men (aged 27 to 46 years) from the police academy were the study subjects. Their prior habits of physical excercise, estimated aerobic capacity (\(\dot V_{O_{2max} } \)), muscular performance, and thickness of subcutaneous fat were determined. The policemen were taller (181 cm vs 175 cm) and heavier (84 kg vs 74 kg) than the average 20- to 40-year-old Finnish man, and their \(\dot V_{O_{2max} } \)(1 · min−1) was higher (3.41 1 · min−1 vs 2.96 1 min−1 The frequency of prior physical exercise significantly correlated with most of the variables studied. Those policemen who did not exercise at all (n = 12) were inferior to the average 20- to 40-year-old Finnish man on all the physical fitness tests, whereas the results of the most active policemen (n = 23) were clearly higher. The results indicate that the selection of heavier and taller men for police training guarantees a certain absolute level of physical performance capacity. However, the physical activity involved in police work is insufficient to maintain a high level of physical fitness, which must be achieved through participation in regular and effective physical training.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen KL, Shephard RJ, Denolin H, Varnauskas E, Masironi R (1971) Fundamentals of exercise testing. World Health Organization, Geneva
Åstrand PO, Rodahl K (1977) Textbook of work physiology. McGraw-Hill, New York
Durnin JVGA, Rahaman NM (1967) The assessment of the amount of fat in human body from measurements of skinfold thickness. Br J Nutr 21:681–689
Fleishman E (1964) The structure and measurement of physical fitness. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Heliövaara M, Aromaa A (1980) Height, weight and obesity of Finnish adults. Publications of the Social Insurance Institution, ML:19, Social Insurance Institution, Helsinki
Ilmarinen J, Rutenfranz J, Kylian H, Klimmer F, Ahrens M, Ilmarinen R (1981) Untersuchungen über unterschiedliche präventive Effekte von habituellen körperlichen Aktivitäten in Beruf bzw. Freizeit. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 49:1–12
Lehtovirta E (1973) Obesity in relation to glucose tolerance. A cross-sectional anthropometric and retrospective study on Helsinki policemen. Ann Clin Res 5 [Suppl 10]: 1–124
Louhevaara V, Ilmarinen J, Oja P (1980) Comparison of the Åstrand nomogram and WHO extrapolation methods for estimating maximal oxygen uptake. Scand J Sports Sci 2:21–25
Ohl B, Reus J, Rohmert W (1981) Ergonomische Untersuchungen des Wechselschichtdienstes der Polizei mit dem Arbeitswissenschaftlichen Erhebungsverfahren zur Tätigkeitsana-lyse (AET). Institut fur Arbeitswissenschaft der Technischen Hochschule, Darmstadt
Oja P, Louhevaara V, Korhonen O (1977) Age and sex as determinants of the relative aerobic strain of nonmotorized mail delivery. Scand J Work Environ Health 3:225–233
Pyörälä K, Savolainen E, Lehtovirta E, Punsar S, Siltanen P (1979) Glucose tolerance and coronary heart disease: Helsinki policemen study. J Chron Dis 32:729–745
Rusko H, Laine K, Louhevaara V, Ikonen K, Hakamäki J, Sauro R (1976) Kuntokoululaisten testaustulosten analysointi ja kuntoluokkien muodostus. In: Vuori I (ed) Fyysisen kunnon mittaaminen. Painoprint Oy, Helsinki
Stamford AB, Weltman A, Moffat JR, Fulco C (1978) Status of police officers with regard to selected cardio-respiratory and body compositional fitness variables. Med Sci Sports Exercise 10 (4):294–297
Vanhala K (1979) Psychological risk factors related to coronary heart disease: prospective study on psychological factors predicting coronary heart disease morbidity of Helsinki policemen. Monographs of Psychiatrica Fennica 9. Psychiatrica Fennica, Helsinki
Vuori I (ed) (1976) Fyysisen kunnon mittaaminen. Painoprint Oy, Helsinki
Vuori I, Saraste M, Aunola S, Mälkiä E, Rimpelä M (1977) Indirectly assessed maximal oxygen uptake of some Finnish populations and its relation to age. Scand J Soc Med [Suppl 14]:40–55
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smolander, J., Louhevaaral, V. & Oja, P. Policemen's physical fitness in relation to the frequency of leisure-time physical excercise. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 54, 295–302 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378582
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00378582