Association between somatotype profile and health-related physical fitness in special police unit

Abstract

Objectives: To characterize somatotype profile and analyze the association between somatotype components, physical, and physiological variables in special police unit (SPU) officers. Methods: One hundred eight male SPU officers, aged 42.5 +/- 4.1 years. Somatotype profile, predicted maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), and physical performance tests were evaluated. Results: The mean somatotypes were 4.04-6.38-1.22. All values clustered amongst the endo-mesomorphism (86%) while mesomorphy was the dominant component (98%). The mean of predicted VO2max was 50.3 +/- 5.2 mL kg-1 min-1. The body mass index (BMI) is more than or equal to 30 was associated to a lowest predicted VO2max (r ¼ 0.613). The VO2max negatively correlated with mesomorphy (r ¼ –0.251). Mesomorphy somatotype was positively associated with maximal and explosive strength tests. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that somatotype profile can be used as an accurate method to assess body physique and shape in SPU officers and an ecto-mesomorphism profile was associated to superior performance in physical and physiological measures.