Jahnke Sara A, Kaipust Christopher, Jitnarin Nattinee, Hollerbach Brittany S, Koeppel Maria D H, Haddock Christopher K, Poston Walker S C
Center for Fire, Rescue, and EMS Health Research, NDRI-USA, Inc, Leawood, Kansas, USA
Center for Fire, Rescue, and EMS Health Research, NDRI-USA, Inc, Leawood, Kansas, USA.
Occup Environ Med. 2022 May;79(5):289-294. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2021-107590. Epub 2021 Oct 25.
Firefighter health has received a great deal of increased attention over the past decade, but most work has been specific to men in the fire service due to small numbers of women, likely due to challenges with recruitment and retention of women in the fire service. While findings suggest men in the fire service struggle with high rates of overweight and obesity due to a number of occupational challenges, limited data are available on large samples of women firefighters.
Using snowball sampling techniques, we conducted an online survey of both career (N=2,398) and volunteer (N=781) women firefighters.
Rates of obesity for both career (15.4%) and volunteer (31.6%) women firefighters were not only lower than men in the fire service (33.5% career and 43.2% volunteer), but also lower than the general population (41.1%). Women career and volunteer firefighters who engaged in heavy physical activity were less likely to be obese. Being a racial or ethnic minority firefighter was associated with being obese, as was serving more than 20 years in the fire service.
Findings highlight that women firefighters have been successful in overcoming the occupational risks, such as a challenging nutrition environment, inconsistent schedules, limited time for fitness, and the metabolic impact of shift work, that put firefighters at increased risk for obesity.
在过去十年中，消防员的健康状况受到了越来越多的关注，但由于女性消防员数量较少，可能是由于消防部门在招聘和留住女性方面存在挑战，大多数研究工作都只针对男性消防员。虽然研究结果表明，由于一些职业挑战，男性消防员面临着较高的超重和肥胖率，但关于大量女性消防员样本的数据却很有限。
我们采用滚雪球抽样技术，对职业女性消防员（N = 2398）和志愿女性消防员（N = 781）进行了在线调查。
职业女性消防员（15.4%）和志愿女性消防员（31.6%）的肥胖率不仅低于男性消防员（职业男性为33.5%，志愿男性为43.2%），而且低于普通人群（41.1%）。从事大量体力活动的职业和志愿女性消防员肥胖的可能性较小。作为少数族裔消防员与肥胖有关，在消防部门工作超过20年也与肥胖有关。
研究结果表明，女性消防员成功克服了一些职业风险，如具有挑战性的营养环境、不规律的工作时间表、有限的健身时间以及轮班工作对新陈代谢的影响，这些风险使消防员肥胖的风险增加。
