In spite of the physical demands of their job, firefighters are still mostly obese or overweight.
According to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, over 70 percent of firefighters in the United States have weight problems. They also said they have not received any weight loss advice from health care providers in the previous year.
"There are a lot of firefighters who are in great shape but many are not," University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health epidemiology associate professor Dr. Sue Day said. "Bigger doesn't always mean stronger, there's a difference between fitness and being big. It's a true missed opportunity for doing prevention in this very high risk group." Researchers said majority of firefighters are not informed about weight loss especially the younger obese or overweight men and women.
While there are some fire stations that have gyms for the firefighters, it could still be hard to fight the bulge because of the culture where fire stations fix good meals and have many great times at the table. However, cardiac arrest is the number one cause of death for firemen and it is associated with obesity. There are several studies that show an increase risk of cancer among firemen as well.
For the study, the researchers looked into the data of 1,002 Fuel 2 Fight male firefighters who made the reports themselves. The team assessed the height and body mass index (BMI) of the subjects. It showed that 96 percent of the subjects said they saw their health care providers last year. However, 69 percent said they did not get any weight advice. Even 48 percent of the obese subjects said they did not get any. Younger firefighters less likely get weight advice unless they fall under the two highest weight groups.
The researchers said it is important for Doctors to provide weight loss and general health advice to firefighters. Based on the study, older firefighters more likely get guidance from their health care providers but even the younger ones need it.
The real American firefighter may not be the hunk that many women imagine to be but they said they like to pride themselves on being "calendar ready."
