Body Measurements and Body Fat in Professional Firefighters
Journal Title: Safety & Fire Technology - Year 2017, Vol 48, Issue 48
Abstract
Aim: The aim of the article is to describe body measurements and body composition in professional firefighters, with a particular focus on body fat. Material and Methods: A cohort of 178 firefighters aged from 19.5 to 53 years was examined, with mean chronological age (CA) of almost 32 years. Study participants were divided into 3 age groups: up to 25 years of age (n = 75.42% of all study participants, mean CA = 22 years), from 25 to 44 years (n = 79.44% of all study participants, mean CA = 37 years) and the oldest, aged over 44 years (n = 24.14% of all study participants, mean CA = 49 years). Body height (BH, cm) and body mass (BM, kg) were measured in the morning by means of the same measurement equipment. Body height was measured using a stadiometer. The participants were wearing light sportswear and were barefoot. The measurements were always performed by the same research team. A stadiometer was used to measure BH and bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to evaluate fat mass in body composition (FM, kg). The evaluation of body composition was performed using the analyser equipped in 4 electrodes (tetrapolar model). Fat mass was expressed in kg and relative to body mass (FM%, PBF). BH, BM and FM measurements were used to calculate body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and fat mass index (FMI, kg/m2). Results: It was found that the mean standardised values of body mass and body mass index in groups of firefighters with CA of 25-44 years and those over 44 years are at or over the upper limit for the population standard (2.0 SDS). The analysis of fat mass index (FMI, kg/m2) demonstrated that a large percentage of firefighters aged over 25 years were characterised by overweight or even obesity. Conclusions: It was demonstrated that body fat in the study participants increased with age. This tendency is so pronounced that a third of the firefighters aged over 25 years were overweight. It was found that: 1. The evaluation of the ability to perform rescue operations should be routinely conducted using body composition examinations, with a particular focus on body fat; 2. the body mass of professional firefighters increases with age, especially after turning 25, due to excess body fat, which in certain firefighters leads even to obesity; 3. regardless of the method of evaluating body fat, the percentage of overweight and obese individuals among firefighters is considerable.
Authors and Affiliations
Andrzej Wiśniewski, Wojciech Jarosz, Marcin Smolarczyk, Anna Czajkowska, Dagmara Zimmerman-Rysz, Przemysław Kowalczyk, Marek Kowalczyk
Keywords
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- EP ID EP265307
- DOI 10.12845/bitp.48.4.2017.8
- Views 69
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