Correlates of Body Mass Index in Hazardous Materials Firefighters

Kales, Stephen N.; Polyhronopoulos, Gerry N.; Aldrich, Jon M.; Leitao, Edward O.; Christiani, David C.

doi:10.1097/00043764-199907000-00007

Cited by 60 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Those authors believe that the findings of their study support the development and implementation of fitness-promotion programs for firefighters. The results of our report, along with those of Kales et al (12), will hopefully increase awareness of those who oversee the hiring of our public safety personnel so that the functional capacity of new hires is adequate for the performance of their duties.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Fitness Levels of Firefighter Recruits Before and After a Supervised Exercise Training Program

ROBERTS¹,

OʼDEA²,

BOYCE³

et al. 2002

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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Federal law prohibits pre-employment physical examination of firefighter recruits, but these workers must perform intense exercise in arduous environments. Components of physical fitness of rookie firefighters (n ϭ 115; 104 men, mean Ϯ SD: age ϭ 28.3 Ϯ 4.3 years; height ϭ 1.76 Ϯ 0.07 m; weight ϭ 83.2 Ϯ 13.9 kg; percent body fat ϭ 17 Ϯ 8%) were measured upon being hired and following a 16-week exercise training program (1 h·d Ϫ1 , 3 d·wk Ϫ1 ) designed to improve physical fitness. Maximum aerobic capacity (V O 2 max) was estimated from submaximal cycle ergometry, body composition from skinfold tests, flexibility from a sit and reach test, strength by hand grip dynamometry, and muscle endurance by a push-up test. The results are as follows (*, p Յ 0.007 vs. pretraining): V O 2 max increased by 28% (35 Ϯ 7 to 45 Ϯ 6* ml·kg Ϫ1 ·min Ϫ1 , 88 Ϯ 20 to 113 Ϯ 17%* of predicted increase); muscle endurance increased (41 Ϯ 13 to 51 Ϯ 14* push-ups); flexibility increased (0.34 Ϯ 0.07 to 0.35 Ϯ 0.07* m); muscle strength tended to increase (102.9 Ϯ 18.7 to 105.4 Ϯ 18.7 kg, p ϭ 0.06); body weight tended to decrease (83.2 Ϯ 13.9 to 82.7 Ϯ 13.2 kg, p ϭ 0.06); lean tissue weight increased (68.8 Ϯ 9.9 to 69.9 Ϯ 9.5* kg); and fat weight decreased (14.6 Ϯ 8.0 to 13.0 Ϯ 7.1* kg). We concluded that aerobic capacity was 20% lower before training than that deemed sufficient for safe performance of fire suppression duties; that training improved aerobic capacity by 28%, decreased fat and increased lean tissue weight, and increased/ tended to increase other components of physical fitness. Prior to initiation of this training program, aerobic capacity of these firefighters was below that deemed appropriate for performing fire suppression duties. Training resulted in a large increase in aerobic capacity, so that the trainees ended the program with an aerobic capacity considered appropriate for fighting fires. It is hoped that the results of this study will encourage those who oversee workers who are responsible for the public's safety to mandate assessment of physical fitness of new hires, with mandatory participation in exercise training for those new hires who are found to possess less than appropriate aerobic capacity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Fitness Levels of Firefighter Recruits Before and After a Supervised Exercise Training Program

ROBERTS¹,

OʼDEA²,

BOYCE³

et al. 2002

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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show abstract

“…Other investigations document that major problems with obesity in the fire service begin long before retirement. We previously reported a 33% prevalence of obesity among the professionally active control firefighters, 14 which increased to 40% 4 years later. 15 Similar cross-sectional results were also observed in a Texas cohort.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Firefighter Heart Presumption Retirements in Massachusetts 1997???2004

Holder

Stallings

Peeples

et al. 2006

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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“…Most fire departments do not require firefighters to exercise regularly. We reported a 33% prevalence of obesity among firefighters [27], which increased to 40% four years later [51]. Womack et al [52] found that both exercise tolerance and lean body mass were below age-predicted averages in another firefighter cohort.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%