Retrospective Cohort Analysis of the Army Physical Fitness Test and the Occupational Physical Assessment Test in Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets: A Brief Report

Abstract

Introduction: Because of the physical fitness requirements of Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs) within the US Army, fitness testing batteries have been developed. The Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) has been used for determining occupation assignment and is meant to assess upper and lower body muscular power, muscular strength, and aerobic capacity. The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) is a general fitness assessment meant to test upper and lower body muscular endurance and aerobic capacity. Comparisons of the two testing batteries as well as evaluation of potential sex differences are missing from current literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the sex differences in APFT and OPAT performances, as well as the relationship between the APFT and OPAT individual test events.

Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis, approved by the university's institutional review board, was conducted on a sample of 90 Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets (men, n = 72, age = 19.7 ± 2.2 years, height = 1.79 ± 0.21 m, mass = 75.18 ± 12.38 kg; women, n = 18, age = 19.8 ± 2.2 years, height = 1.63 ± 0.09 m, mass = 65.56 ± 9.03 kg) from the Fall 2018 semester. The cadets completed the APFT (maximal push-ups, maximal sit-ups, 2-mile run) and OPAT (standing long jump, seated power throw, a deadlift test, and interval aerobic run) protocols per army standards. Analysis of variance assessed sex differences and correlation coefficients were computed to examine the strength of relationships between individual test events (p < 0.05).

Results: All APFT and OPAT event performances were lower in women compared to men (p < 0.05), except the sit-up test (p = 0.382). Seated power throw (Z = 2.285; p = 0.011), 2-mile run (Z = 1.97; p = 0.024), and strength deadlift (Z = 1.783; p = 0.037) were more highly correlated to push-up than aerobic interval run. The standing long jump (Z = 1.741; p = 0.041), power throw (Z = 3.168; p = 0.001), strength deadlift (Z = 2.989; p = 0.001), and shuttle run (Z = 2.933 p = 0.002) were less correlated with the sit-up than 2-mile run. The interval aerobic run was more related to the 2-mile run than the power throw (Z = 1.809, p = 0.035). Compared to the aerobic interval run, the standing long jump (Z = 2.969, p = 0.001) and strength deadlift (Z = 4.237, p < 0.001) were more related to the seated power throw.

Conclusions: Sex differences and varied relationships among individual events on two common military fitness test batteries were observed. Lower performances on APFT and OPAT by women may suggest the need to evaluate potential training methods to assist women in reaching their desired MOS. Further, individual OPAT events displayed weaker relationships compared with the relationships among individual APFT event, suggesting a greater degree of redundancy among the events on the APFT. Therefore, the combination of APFT and OPAT may offer a greater opportunity to measure physical fitness capabilities as related to various military job performance tasks.