Physical Fitness Test (PFT) in Police and Military in Brazil: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Physical Fitness Tests (PFTs) are part of military routines and are usually administered to applicants for the Brazilian corps member, including the civil police. Objective: To identify in the literature, scientific articles aimed at assessing physical fitness of police and military personnel in Brazil, using PFTs. Methods: This was a systematic review, using the PRISMA systematization, using the following search keywords "police", "military", "physical fitness test" and " PFT", in English and Portuguese. The databases used were ScienceDirect, PubMed, BVS (Lilacs) and Scielo. Only original works performed with police and military personnel in Brazil were selected, through the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: After the screening process, 11 articles were selected from a total of 1,487. Conclusions: The data collected from the selected articles suggest that older age is related to a decrease in physical fitness, and better performance in the tests is related to a lower risk of comorbidities. Although high-intensity training improves physical fitness and anthropometric data, it is associated with injury rates; physically active lifestyle is associated with better flexibility.