Body composition description in a cohort of active officers in the Colombian army

Authors

  • Luz Marina Umbarila Espinosa Escuela Militar de Cadetes General José María Córdova, Colombia
  • Eduardo Tuta-Quintero Universidad de la Sabana, Colombia
  • Daniel Botero Rosas Escuela Militar de Cadetes “General José María Córdova”, Colombia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.39.01.005.332

Keywords:

body composition, military, physical activity

Abstract

Background: Body composition in the military population is essential in the characterization of nutritional status, representing the total accumulation in tissues and organs of nutrients acquired by the interaction of physical activity.

Objective: Describe and analyze variables of the CP data collected from a sample of officers of the Colombian National Army.

Methodology: Descriptive study among officers evaluated by means of ergospirometry tests in order to determine body composition and bioimpedance with nutritional status as an indicator of health risks, using a height rod, a scale with a precision of 100 grams, a flexible anthropometric tape and an amplitude less than 7 mm, compass of small diameters and skin folds. A statistically significant p <0.05 is considered.

Results: The sample of officers collected is composed of a total of 96 subjects with a division of military ranks as follows: lieutenant (n= 28), captain (n=23), major (n=15), lieutenant colonel ( n=10), second lieutenant (n=4) and colonel (n=1). The difference in age and weight between the group of senior and junior officers was 11.33 years (p=0.089) and 1.42 kilograms (p=0.235), respectively. The expected value of flexibility is different between groups, being higher in the group of junior officers (p=0.016).

Conclusion: The body composition variables did not present statistically significant differences between the superior and subordinate official groups.

Author Biographies

Luz Marina Umbarila Espinosa, Escuela Militar de Cadetes General José María Córdova, Colombia

Magíster en Ciencias y tecnologías del deporte y la actividad física. Coordinadora académica, docente e investigadora de la Facultad de Educación Física en la Escuela Militar de Cadetes. Línea de interés en el área investigativa sobre el entrenamiento físico-militar. “General José María Córdova”. Bogotá, D.C.  Correo: luz.umbarila@esmic.edu.co. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8312-4436.

Eduardo Tuta-Quintero, Universidad de la Sabana, Colombia

Candidato a Maestría en Epidemiología, Universidad de La Sabana, grupo de Medicina del Adulto. Júnior de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina Universidad de La Sabana. Chía, Colombia. eduardotuqu@unisabana.edu.co Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7243-2238

Daniel Botero Rosas, Escuela Militar de Cadetes “General José María Córdova”, Colombia

TMédico de la Escuela Colombiana de Medicina, con maestría y doctorado en ingeniería
biomédica de la Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro, Brasil. Línea de interés
en investigación relacionadas con procesamiento digital de señales, rendimiento físico, metabolismo y fisiología humana. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Sabana (Chía, Colombia) y Escuela Militar de Cadetes “General José María Córdova”. Bogotá, D.C. Colombia.
daniel.botero@esmic.edu.co. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2590-0756.

Published

2023-06-15

How to Cite

Umbarila Espinosa, L. M. ., Tuta-Quintero, E. ., & Botero Rosas, D. . (2023). Body composition description in a cohort of active officers in the Colombian army. Salud Uninorte, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.39.01.005.332

Issue

Section

Original Article

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