Anthropometric Characteristics of Iranian Military Personnel and their Changes over Recent Years

BACKGROUND: In most armies, clothes, equipment and weapons are designed according to the physical characteristics and anthropometric data of soldiers. OBJECTIVE: To study the anthropometric characteristics of Iranian army force and their changes over recent years. METHODS: 12 635 Iranian military personnel aged between 18 and 30 years with tenure of <10 years who were normally engaged in educational military activities and soldiers were enrolled in this study, which was conducted in 2010. RESULTS: The military personnel had a mean±SD stature of 174.1±6.3 cm and sitting height of 89.7±3.8 cm. They had a mean weight of 70.0 kg, and body mass index of 23.3 kg/m(2). CONCLUSION: The stature of Iranian army has increased by 14 mm during the last 15 years. The stature was less than those of the western countries and 3–4 cm more than those of East Asian personnel. The body mass index has had an increasing trend.