Preaccession Fitness and Body Composition as Predictors of Attrition in US Army Recruits

The Assessment of Recruit Motivation and Strength (ARMS) project evaluated whether active duty Army enlistees who exceeded weight and body-fat standards but were able to pass the ARMS physical fitness test were at elevated risk of early attrition relative to the traditional recruit population. Attrition among 1,146 overweight and over-body-fat (OBF) recruits who passed ARMS was compared to 10,514 fully qualified (FQ) recruits who began service in February 2005 through September 2006. The ARMS test includes a 5-minute step test and a 1-minute pushup test. There were no significant differences in attrition between OBF and FQ at 180 days: adjusted hazard ratios were 1.17 (95% CI: 0.83, 1.65) among females and 1.23 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.58) among males. This study indicates that physically fit recruits who exceeded weight/body-fat standards were equally capable of serving at least 180 days compared to those who met standards.