Comparison of body mass index with waist circumference and skinfold-based percent body fat in firefighters: adiposity classification and associations with cardiovascular disease risk factors

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker, Dean B. ; Choi B ; Dobson M ; Garcia-Rivas J ; Kojaku S ; Schnall P ; Steiss D
• Description:
  Purpose: This study aims to examine whether body mass index (BMI) overestimates the prevalence of overweight or obese firefighters when compared to waist circumference (WC) and skinfold-based percent body fat (PBF) and to investigate differential relationships of the three adiposity measures with other biological cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Methods: The adiposity of 355 (347 males and eight females) California firefighters was assessed using three different measures. Other CVD risk factors (high blood pressure, high lipid profiles, high glucose, and low VO2 max) of the firefighters were also clinically assessed. Results: The prevalence of total overweight and obesity was significantly (p < 0.01) higher by BMI (80.4 %) than by WC (48.7 %) and by PBF (55.6 %) in male firefighters. In particular, the prevalence of overweight firefighters was much higher (p < 0.01) by BMI (57.3 %) than by WC (24.5 %) and PBF (38.3 %). 60-64 % of male firefighters who were assessed as normal weight by WC and PBF were misclassified as overweight by BMI. When overweight by BMI was defined as 27.5-29.9 kg/m2 (vs. the standard definition of 25.0-29.9 kg/m2), the agreement of the adiposity classification increased between BMI and other two adiposity measures. Obese firefighters had the highest CVD risk profiles across all three adiposity measures. Only when overweight by BMI was defined narrowly, overweight firefighters had substantially higher CVD risk profiles. Obesity and overweight were less prevalent in female and Asian male firefighters. Conclusions: BMI overestimated the prevalence of total overweight and obesity among male firefighters, compared to WC and skinfold-based PBF. Overweight by BMI needs to be more narrowly defined, or the prevalence of BMI-based overweight (27.5-29.9 kg/m2) should be reported additionally for prevention of CVD among male firefighters. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Body Weight Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Firefighters Men Occupational Health Quality Control Race Factors Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sex Characteristics Skin Women

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• Keywords:
  Adipose Tissue Author Keywords: California BMI Body Mass Index Body Measurements Body Weight Cardiovascular Function Cardiovascular System Disorders Ethnicity Fire-fighters Gender Gender Factors Humans Obesity Overweight Professional Firefighters Quality Standards Racial Factors Risk Factors Weight Factors Weight Measurement Worker Health

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• ISSN:
  0340-0131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  435-448
• Volume:
  89
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049045
• Citation:
  Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2016 Apr; 89(3):435-448
• Contact Point Address:
  BongKyoo Choi, Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California, Irvine, 100 Theory, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
• Email:
  b.choi@uci.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Irvine
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20130831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:98294324136fa9d1654f7408e7ecd9e81a9db6af4dc2341833f3a8814b02e5a89bfdba07deeac4c33e2a6f744d134212db460529f4ce55ff2ebf4872c10faf65
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203628/cdc_203628_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 556.64 KB ]