LAUSR

BACKGROUND Body anthropometrics are biologically predetermined, while morphology responds to energy intake and output and stressors, thus impacting health. Fitness is impacted by these bodily characteristics. OBJECTIVE This study determined to what degree anthropomorphic measures and age of police officers determined 2.4 km running performance. METHODS Age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and 2.4 km running time (RUN) of 1916 male police officers were directly measured and analyzed. After determining correlations of anthropomorphic variables with RUN. Stepwise linear regressions evaluated individual associations of age, height, weight, BMI, WC, and WHtR with RUN, to determine the model with the highest predictive value of RUN performance. RESULTS WHtR was the strongest RUN predictor (r = 0.672, R2 = 0.451, p <  0.001), while the best predictive model apart from WHtR also included age and BM (R2 = 0.556, p <  0.001). CONCLUSIONS WHtR was the strongest anthropomorphic predictor of RUN performance. As a predictor, WHtR provides information on both anthropometric and morphology components of police officers. Its utilization among police occupations may be more effective than BMI as it better relates to performance.