Occupational health concerns: An analysis of physical activity of submariners

Submarine crew have low physical activity by virtue of their professional requirements. Lack of space and inadequacy of regeneration capabilities render physical activity almost impossible during deployments. However, sufficient data for physical activity levels and trends are required to measure the magnitude of inactivity.

Data was collected from 362 personnel belonging to six submarines and one submarine base using Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Four study groups were defined: Base, Refit, Operational/Harbour and Operational/Sea.

Overall, 30.11% of the crew had insufficient physical activity (4.04% in Base, 5.75% in Refit, 15% in Ops/Harbour and 91.67% in Ops/Sea groups). Of the total physical activity, 48.7% was contributed by activity at work, 18.71% by travel related activity and 32.62% by recreational physical activity. Base group recorded the highest recreational activity of 1468.28 Minutes-per-Week. Recreational activity contributed 43.22% to total physical activity for this group. Mean total physical activity was highest for ≥45 years and lowest for ≤24 years. ≥45 years old also recorded the highest recreational activity.

The greatest cause for concern comes from the crew in operational submarines and the younger crew. Physical activity profile of the crew when at sea cannot be changed and greater research is required to assess the long-term health effects of physical inactivity in this group. However, what can be modified are the work schedules for refit submarines and operational submarines when in harbour. Targeted interventions and strategies are required to establish sustainable behaviour patterns with regards to physical activity in these groups.