OBESITY AND FIRE FIGHTERS

OBESITY AND FIRE FIGHTERS FLT Jay Gormley

Introduction

Fire fighters have recently been called “Tactical Athletes” by many in the field. In the course of duty we are asked to perform many physically demanding jobs from climbing ladders and pulling charged lines to performing CPR for an

extending period of time. The public expects us to be able to do this day in and day out.

A quote from John Eversole,

“Our department takes 1120 calls everyday. Do you know how many of the calls the public expects perfection on? 1120. Nobody calls the fire department and says, “Send me two dumb-ass fireman in a pickup truck.” In three minutes they want five brain- surgeon decathlon champions to come and solve all their problems.” Are we fit for duty if this is what is expected of us?

Metabolic Equivalent of a Task (MET)

This is a fancy term for what is required of a working fire fighter in the rate of oxygen consumption during a task as compared to resting. NFPA 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, rates search and rescue under smoke conditions as 16 METS. To put this in perspective, a professional soccer player has a METS of 17-18. A NFL Football athlete has a METS of 15-16.(1) This is why fire fighters are called “Tactical Athletes”. Knowing this, can a fire fighter still be fit for duty if he or she is obese?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a person obese if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is <30. An adult male who is 5’9” tall would be considered obese if he weighed 203 lbs or more. The ideal weight would be 125-168 lbs. (2) A study in Massachusetts that involved 340 HAZMAT fire fighters found that 290 (87%) were overweight, 113 (34%) were obese, and 7 morbidly obese (2%) (3). Further, another study of 332 Massachusetts fire fighters found that obese fire fighters were more likely to have medical histories of hypertension and low levels of so-called “good cholesterol,” whereas those firefighters classified as extremely obese “had an average of 2.1 CVD risk factors (excluding obesity) in contrast to 1.5 CVD risk factors for normal-weight firefighters.” (4) These findings show that fire fighters are more likely to be overweight and obsess than the general population (70%). This added weight and the demands of the job adversely affects the ability to perform the job and survive.(5)

A fire fighter that is obese has an increased air consumption rate, limiting the time the entire crew can perform on the fire ground. Remember, this time doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to the people we are swore to protect. Overweight fire fighters suffer illness and injuries secondary to heat stress more often than a more fit peer. The extra weight of the bunker gear and tools increases cardiac demand and elevates core temperature. This puts even more strain on the heart to pump blood to the skin to cool itself (thermoregulation). This all leads to what we already know: sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of line-of- duty deaths.(6) Being overweight is killing us more than cancer (being overweight increases this too).

What Can be done? Let your fellow Boston Firefighters from the Health and Ladders Team help you to be better and happier.

Our mission is to physically and mentally prepare members of the Boston Fire Department through nutrition, fitness, recovery and education.

The Health and Ladders (H & L) Program was established on April 1st, 2022 under the Safety Health and Wellness Division. This program was designed to invest in the health and fitness of all members of the Boston Fire Department to maintain professional and physically capable firefighters while ensuring career longevity, injury mitigation, and ability of all members to successfully manage the physical and mental stressors of being a firefighter. In addition, members enjoy a higher quality of day to day life outside the tour of duty. In its first year, the Health and Ladders team has engaged with over 700 members, recruits and cadets through 16 various “Challenges”, recruit classes, Cadet Orientations, firehouse drop-ins and nutritional consults and guidance.

References:

1.) https://www.fireengineering.com/health-safety/weigh-in-firefighters-and-obesity/

2.) Garrow, J.S. & Webster, J., 1985. Quetelet’s index (W/H2) as a measure of fatness. Int. J. Obes., 9(2), pp.147–153

3.) Kales, SN; Polyhronopoulos, GN; Aldrich, JM; Leitao, EO; and Christiani, DC. (1999, July). “Correlates of body mass index in hazardous materials firefighters,” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine; 41:589-595.

4.) Soteriades, ES; Hauser, R; Kawachi, I; Liarokapis, D; Christiani, DC; and Kales, SN. (2005, October). “Obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors in firefighters: a prospective cohort study,” Obesity Research; 13, 1756-1763.

5.) http://www.firefightersworldwide.com/2014/09/firefighters-overweight-obese/ 6.) https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2014/14_0091.htm/14_0091a.htm