Comparison of Indicators of Physical and Health-related Fitness and Body Composition in Different Age Groups of Workers

The study of physical and health-related fitness and body composition indicators in workers is very important to prevent performance degradation. Therefore, this study aims to investigate such indicators among the employees of Izogam Shargh Company.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 150 workers from 150 stations in Mashhad city were selected by stratified random sampling and divided into three age groupsnamely. 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54 years. Two -way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Bonferroni post-hoc test were performed to compare the variables in the three age groups.

Significant differences were found in body composition indicators, i.e., weight between the age groups 25-34 years with 35- 44 years (P=0.008) and 35-44 years with 45- 54 years (P=0.001), body mass index between the age groups 25-34 years with 45-54 years (P=0.001) and 35-44 years with 45-54 years (P=0.001), body fat percentage between the age groups 25-34 years with 45- 54 years (P = 0.006), maximum oxygen consumption between the age groups 25-34 years with 35-44 years (P=0.001), 25-34 years with 45-54 years (P=0.001), and 35-44 years with 45-54 years (P=0.001). In addition, significant differences were found in all physical and health-related fitness indicators, i.e., agility, explosive strength, flexibility, abdominal muscle endurance, and shoulder girdle muscle endurance, between the age groups 25-34 years with 35-44 years (P=0.001), 25-34 years with 45-54 years (P=0.001), and 35-44 years with 45-54 years (P=0.001).

The results of this study show that the level of  physical fitness of employees decreases with age. Therefore, it is suggested that the managers of companies create the necessary conditions and incentives for employees to engage in regular physical activity.