2007, Piran, Slovenia

Environmental Ergonomics XII
Igor B. Mekjavic, Stelios N. Kounalakis & Nigel A.S. Taylor (Eds.), © BIOMED, Ljubljana 2007
Figure 1. A two-dimensional plot for the 1988 and 2004 anthropometric males with 90%
ellipses M 04 :(Height: 177cm, Weight: 82kg , Body fat 18%); M 88 :(176, 79, 19)
Figure 2. Anthropometric effects on core temperatures by somatotypes (2004 database). A 04 :
“tall-fat”, B 04 : “tall-lean”, C 04 : “short-lean”, D 04 : “short-fat”, M 04 : “average” somatotypes
DISCUSSION
This study showed secular trends in body measurements and composition among male U.S.
Army Soldiers from 1988 to 2004, and evaluated the effects of these changes on simulated Tcr
responses to heat stress. We found a significant increase in body weight in these two groups
of U.S. Army males, even though most of them complied with weight control standards (1).
However, the temporal changes in height, %BF and body circumferences were insignificant,
with the magnitude of the changes not exceeding inter-observer errors. These results suggest
that the relationship between BMI and body composition differ between military and nonmilitary
populations. That is, in non-military populations, an increase in BMI associated with
increased body weight is generally thought to reflect an increased level of body fatness.
However, a weight increase in the Army populations does not necessarily indicate a
474
PC2
-2 -1 0 1 2
(34%)
core temperature (ºC)
Short-lean
40
39.5
39
38.5
38
37.5
37
36.5
36
C 04 (168,55,7)
C 88 (166,52,8)
Tall-lean
B 04 (191, 83, 9)
B 88 (188, 79, 10)
M 88
M 04
Average
D 88 (163, 80, 27)
D 04 (161, 82, 26)
A 88 (186,106,29)
-4 -2 0 2 4
PC1 (61%)
Short-fat
Tall-fat
A 04 (186,112,29)
A04 B04 C04 D04 M04
rest walk
35ºC/50%rh
BDU+body armor
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time (minutes)
71min
89min