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Farest Measurement In The United States Air Force

Decent Essays

POSITION PAPER

ON

THE CONTINUED USE OF WAIST MEASUREMENT IN AIR FORCE FITNESS TESTS

1. This paper will advocate for the continued use of waist measurements in the United States Air Force (USAF) Fitness Assessment (FA). It will cover the reasons why waist measurement is a necessity in maintaining Airmen health and fitness levels, the arguments against waist measurement, and countermeasures proving the inherent need of waist measurements.

2. The body composition component of the USAF FA amounts to 20 percent of the overall composite score and measures the member’s abdominal circumference.1 The waist circumference measurement, along with all other components of the Fitness Test, were developed to maintain a level of health that will optimize …show more content…

The problem with the waist circumference measurement is the belief that it unfairly targets a certain population of athletic, large-boned individuals.5 The fact that not all Airmen have the same build, supports the disapproval for the body composition assessment. Summarized by Dawn Rayner, an Air Force fitness leader, as he mimicked the opposers saying, “I can pass all these other components of this test, it’s just the way my body is built, and I’m really not that overfat.”6 Physically fit Airmen have been persistent in this idea that the waist circumference component is not a valid assessment of fitness and should not be part of the fitness test. The argumentative belief is that without the waist measurement, many previously unsuccessful Airmen would pass the fitness test rather than dealing with unfair consequences detrimental to their …show more content…

Air Force Personnel Center, "Air Force Fitness Program," http://www.afpc.af.mil/affitnessprogram/index.asp.
2. Air Force Personnel Center, “Air Force Fitness Program: Frequently Asked Questions,” http://www.afpc.af.mil/affitnessprogram/affitnessfaq.asp.
3. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “Assessing Your Weight and Health Risk,” https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/risk.htm.
4. Air Force Personnel Center, “Air Force Fitness Program: Frequently Asked Questions.”
5. Oriana Pawlyk, “PT test checkup: Tape test fail rate down; run is still a struggle,” Air Force Times, http://archive.airforcetimes.com/article/20140605/NEWS/306050063/PT-test-checkup-Tape-test-fail-rate-down-run-still-struggle.
6. Orianna Pawlyk, “119 airmen failed the waist measurement test, and alternatives,” Air Force Times, http://archive.airforcetimes.com/article/20140911/NEWS/309110069/119-airmen-failed-waist-measurement-test-alternatives.
7. Oriana Pawlyk, “PT test checkup: Tape test fail rate down; run is still a struggle,” Air Force Times.
8. Oriana Pawlyk, “PT test checkup: Tape test fail rate down; run is still a struggle,” Air Force Times.
9. Orianna Pawlyk, “119 airmen failed the waist measurement test, and alternatives,” Air Force

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