Selected anthropometric indices of maritime university students

Abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity during working life are becoming an increasingly serious challenge to various professional groups where recruits and personnel must be healthy and fit. Marine recruitment, even at the training stage, should be open to applicants who meet health and fitness criteria. The objective of the study is to determine the overweight and adiposity rates among seafarer candidates (n = 368). Based on anthropometric measurements and somatic indices the extent of obesity among marine students/ /future seafarers was investigated.

Materials and methods: In the groups identified according to the year of study, arithmetic averages (SD — standard deviation) were calculated for somatometric characteristics, and were then used to analyse the phenomena of overweight and obesity. The comparison was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) by ranks.

Results: The highest average body mass index (BMI) score was found in fourth-year students (mean BMI 25.7 ± 2.8). The average BMI for years one and two was in the upper range of ‘healthy’ weight. In 24.0% of first-year students and 32.2% of second-year students, the waist circumference was higher than half of the body height. Body fat percentage results indicate that this feature is highly variable, with a strong upward trend.

Conclusions: Findings regarding overweight among future seamen give cause for concern. The participants of the study were characterised by excessive weight and adiposity. Recruitment criteria for uniformed services are not as restrictive as they used to be, as it is getting increasingly more difficult to find sufficiently slim and fit applicants.