Associations of anthropometric measures and occupational task performance among Brazilian Air Force cadets: Anthropometric measures predicting task performance

Anthropometric measures predicting task performance

Resumo

Aim: This study aimed to investigate whether there are associations between anthropometric measures and occupational task performance among Brazilian Air Force cadets. Methods: A total of 155 cadets (14 women) participated in three testing sessions: first, they were submitted to anthropometric assessments (height and weight to calculate body mass index and skinfold thickness to determine body fat percentage). In the second session, they were submitted to a 150 m swimming test, wearing the utility uniform, and, in the last testing session, they completed a 12-km foot march, wearing the utility uniform and carrying approximately 25 kg of equipment. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlations, multiple linear regressions, and ANOVA between quartiles of the results were employed to analyze the data. Results: There were weak correlations between anthropometric measures and task performance, with body fat, body mass, and height showing significant effects at the extremes of the distribution. Specifically, higher body fat and body mass were associated with slower foot march times, while taller cadets performed better in both the foot march and swimming tests. No significant associations were observed for the swimming performance, except for height. Conclusion: Stratified analysis based on quartiles revealed that cadets with higher body fat or body mass performed worse in the foot march. Conversely, taller cadets outperformed shorter ones in both tasks. This study suggests that anthropometric traits alone are insufficient to predict overall performance, but they can provide valuable insights into task-specific roles. Besides that, further studies are recommended to investigate this topic more deeply.