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Sports Sciences

University of Dayton

Body weight bias

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Body Weight Penalties In The Physical Fitness Tests Of The Army, Air Force, And Navy, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Todd A. Crowder Jan 2006

Body Weight Penalties In The Physical Fitness Tests Of The Army, Air Force, And Navy, Paul M. Vanderburgh, Todd A. Crowder

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Recent research has empirically documented a consistent penalty against heavier service members for events identical or similar to those in the physical fitness tests of the Army, Air Force, and Navy. These penalties, not related to body fatness, are based on biological scaling models and have a physiologic basis. Using hypothetical cases, we quantified the penalties for males, 60 vs. 90 kg body weight, and females, 45 vs. 75 kg, to be 15-20% for the fitness tests of these three services. Such penalties alone can adversely impact awards and promotions for heavier service members. To deal equitably with these penalties …