Does Body Mass Index Influence the Physiological and Perceptual Demands Associated with Defensive Tactics Training in State Patrol Officers?

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the physiological and perceptual demands associated with defensive tactics (DEFTAC) training among state patrol officers of different BMI (body mass index) categories. Twenty-four male state patrol officers (n = 24, age 36.00 + 7.86 yrs) voluntarily agreed to participate in data collection during a DEFTAC gauntlet. Anthropometric information (height (HT) 182.19 + 7.43 cm and weight (WT) 96.31 + 17.45 kg), body mass index (BMI), peak and average heart rates, duty weight, BLa, and RPE, were recorded. Officers were then divided into two-groups (Healthy BMI (BMI ≤ 25), n = 12, Overweight (BMI ≥ 25), n = 12). Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to determine the effect of BMI on the outcome variables. Furthermore, a Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient was also conducted to determine if significant relationships between RPE, BLa, and HR existed between groups. Significant mean score differences between healthy and overweight officers were found in measures of age [t(22) 4.12, p< 0.01, R = .44], and weight of duty gear [t(21) 3.96, p