TABLE 2.
Unadjusted Health Parameters of Male Career and Volunteer Firefighters Stratified by Obesity Status (BMI ≥ 30) (M [SD] or %)
| BMI-Defined Obesity | Department Type
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career
|
Volunteer
|
|||
| Yes (33.5%) | No (66.5%) | Yes (43.2%) | No (56.8%) | |
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, yrs | 41.5 (9.2) | 36.6 (9.8) | 41.6 (9.9) | 38.9 (13.5) |
| Race (% white) | 89.7 | 88.3 | 96.5 | 98.2 |
| Years in the fire service | 16.2 (8.8) | 12.9 (9.0) | 12.7 (10.1) | 10.8 (10.4) |
| Body composition | ||||
| Weight (kg; lb) | 107.3 (12.7) | 83.1 (9.2) | 111.0 (13.5) | 82.3 (9.1) |
| 236.2 (28.0) | 182.9 (20.2) | 244.2 (29.7) | 181.0 (20.1) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 33.7 (3.6) | 26.1 (2.3) | 34.4 (3.6) | 25.7 (2.6) |
| WC (in) | 43.1 (3.9) | 35.8 (3.0) | 44.8 (3.7) | 36.6 (3.1) |
| Body fat (%) | 32.0 (4.6) | 21.9 (4.6) | 32.8 (5.0) | 21.0 (5.1) |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | ||||
| SBP (mmHg) | 128.4 (13.2) | 121.7 (11.5) | 135.3 (14.0) | 127.0 (12.4) |
| DBP (mmHg) | 83.5 (10.3) | 76.0 (9.2) | 86.1 (11.7) | 77.1 (9.3) |
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 166.7 (43.2) | 149.9 (35.6) | 165.6 (47.3) | 156.7 (36.9) |
| HDL (mg/dL) | 36.4 (13.7) | 39.7 (12.0) | 33.2 (10.3) | 39.6 (11.3) |
| LDL (mg/dL) | 108.1 (40.7) | 91.9 (31.6) | 105.1 (41.1) | 99.6 (28.3) |
| Triglyceride (mg/dL) | 141.6 (83.6) | 107.4 (69.9) | 162.3 (95.5) | 112.3 (73.5) |
| NCEP metabolic syndrome criteria | ||||
| SBP ≥ 130 mmHg | 39.6 | 21.9 | 67.4 | 39.8 |
| DBP ≥ 85 mmHg | 40.9 | 15.8 | 53.5 | 19.5 |
| HTN or medications | 4.4 | 1.6 | 12.8 | 1.8 |
| Triglyceride ≥ 150 mg/dL | 32.8 | 20.2 | 30.2 | 17.7 |
| Low HDL (<40 mg/dL in men; <50 mg/dL in women) | 66.4 | 56.3 | 80.3 | 62.1 |
| Fitness | ||||
| VO2 max (mL/kg/min) | 33.5 (6.1) | 41.4 (6.5) | 30.8 (7.5) | 38.9 (9.0) |
| METs | 9.5 (2.0) | 12.1 (2.1) | 8.8 (2.1) | 11.1 (2.6) |
| IPAQ weekly vigorous energy expenditure (vigorous MET-mins/week)* | 1931.8 (1795.3) | 2381.6 (1750.8) | 4160.5 (5124.3) | 3634.4 (4868.8) |
| IPAQ weekly total energy expenditure (total MET-mins/week)† | 4720.4 (3639.2) | 5472.4 (3776.0) | 9310.8 (8486.7) | 10885.6 (9584.4) |
| Maximum torso strength (lb) | 328.2 (57.6) | 317.0 (52.9) | 338.8 (54.5) | 311.8 (55.8) |
| Flexibility (in) | 12.8 (2.9) | 13.5(3.0) | 12.9 (3.0) | 13.8 (3.0) |
BMI, body mass index; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HTN, hypertension; IPAQ, International Physical Activity Questionnaire; MET, metabolic equivalent; NCEP, National Cholesterol Education Program; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; SBP, systolic blood pressure; VO2, maximal oxygen consumption; WC, waist circumference.
*
Vigorous activity level; MET-min/wk = 8.0 × vigorous-intensity activity minutes × vigorous-intensity days.
†
Total physical activity MET-min/wk can be computed as the sum of walking + moderate + vigorous MET-min/wk scores.