Psychosocial Occupational Risk Factors for Obesity in Male Firefighters: Results of the FORWARD Study Survey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baker, Dean B. ; Choi B ; Dobson M ; Garcia J ; Israel L ; Ko S ; Schnall P
• Description:
  Background: Among 41 male-dominated occupations in the United States (US), firefighters and police officers have the third highest prevalence rate of obesity. However, few epidemiological studies have examined occupational and behavioral risk factors for obesity in male firefighters. As part of the on-going FORWARD study (Choi et al., 2011) that has examined the occupational and behavioral risk factors for obesity in firefighters, this study aims to investigate whether adverse work organizational conditions and unhealthy behaviors of firefighters are associated with obesity in the survey data of the FORWARD study. Methods: So far, 284 male firefighters in a Southern California county have volunteered to participate in the survey of the FORWARD study (participation rate = 85%). The study participants were asked to fill out a firefighter specific work and ealth questionnaire (that was developed through focus groups with firefighters) when they visited a clinic for their wellness and fitness (WEFIT) exams from November 2010 to August 2012. From them, 245 male firefighters who worked at local fire stations and had valid study variables were selected for this analysis. As the key work organization risk factors, we examined the total number of calls on a typical work day, the total number of 24-hr work shifts in the past month, the numbers of two, three, and four consecutive 24-hr shifts in the past month, low decision authority (3 JCQ items), high psychological job demands (3 JCQ items), sedentary work (1 item), organizational culture (6 JCQ items for procedural justice, organizational support, and macro-level decision latitude), exposure to critical incidents (5 items), and workfamily conflict (3 items) in the survey data. As the key health behavior risk factors, we examined physical activity at work and during leisure time, fruit consumption, heavy eating since childhood and heath behaviors of coworkers and supervisors (health climate). The adiposity of each of 282 firefighters was assessed at their Wellness and Fitness (WEFIT) exams in three ways with standard protocols by an experienced exercise physiologist: BMI; estimated body fat % based on 3-site skinfolds; and waist circumference. Age, education, marital status, and ethnicity were controlled for in multivariate linear regression analyses. Results: The obesity prevalence was higher in the ranks of captains and battalion chiefs (n=73) than in the ranks of firefighters and engineers (n=172) in terms of all three measures (e.g., BMI-based obesity prevalence was 32.1% in the higher ranks while it was 16.6% in the lower ranks). Obesity prevalence varied by specific obesity measure. The obesity risk profiles among the firefighters differed by rank. In the ranks of captains and chiefs, frequent three consecutive 24-hr shifts (2 or more in the past month vs. none), sedentary work, and infrequent physical exercise at work and during leisure time were identified as most significant risk factors for obesity consistently with all of the three obesity measures. Interestingly, high daily calls (i.e., more than 7 calls vs. 5 to 7 calls) appeared to reduce the risk for obesity among firefighters (with BMI and waist circumference). In the ranks of firefighters and engineers (n=93), high numbers of total 24-hr shifts in the past (more than 15 24-hr shifts vs. 13 or less 24-hr shifts), emotional demands, exposure to critical incidents, infrequent physical exercise at work and during leisure time, low consumption of fruits, and heavy eating (since childhood) were associated with higher adiposity consistently with all three obesity measures. Discussions: This study suggests that not only unhealthy health behaviors (exercise and eating), but also adverse work organizational factors (particularly, shift work schedule) may increase the risk for obesity among firefighters. In addition, this study indicates that the obesity risk profiles among firefighters may differ by the rank of firefighters so strategies for addressing obesity need to be rank-specific. These preliminary findings will be further checked and tested at the end of the FORWARD survey in November 2012. In addition, these findings will be presented and discussed at the research advisory committee (that was developed by the joint effort between the research team and the firefighter representatives at the beginning of the FORWARD study) and through focus groups with firefighters for taking actions to prevent obesity among this group of firefighters. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Firefighters Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Behavior Patterns BMI Body Mass Index Fire Fighters Obesity Psychosocial Factors Risk Factors
• Publisher:
  American Psychological Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• 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:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056215
• Citation:
  Work, Stress, and Health 2013: Protecting and Promoting Total Worker Health(TM), The 10th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health, May 16-19, 2013, Los Angeles, California. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2013 May; :1-2
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Irvine
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  Work, Stress, and Health 2013: Protecting and Promoting Total Worker Health(TM), The 10th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health, May 16-19, 2013, Los Angeles, California
• End Date:
  20130831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f6e3995eae5e2df043ff2d1acdc3f632acb9504e716520d8d665a45ee75b329840b1c5c165464803811b565b3c3bbd45c581a59a2685c059014b827751d5fce8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213867/cdc_213867_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 141.56 KB ]