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.