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Cardiorespiratory Fitness of Firefighters: Initial Results of a Multi-Phased Study
Zeke J McKinney1, Ralph S Bovard, Maria N Starchook-Moore
1HealthPartners Institute (Dr McKinney, Dr Bovard, Dr Xi, Ms Bredeson, Ms Schwartz, Dr Pronk); HealthPartners Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency (Dr McKinney, Dr Bovard, Dr Starchook-Moore); Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis (Dr McKinney, Dr Bovard, Dr Starchook-Moore); HealthPartners, Bloomington (Dr Ronneberg); Health Strategies, White Bear Lake (Ms Thelen, Ms Nash); St. Paul Fire Department (Mr Dickinson, Mr McDonough, Ms Hirdman), St. Paul, Minnesota.
Objective:
To address which body composition (BC) measures best correlate with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in firefighters and develop a model for accurate CRF estimation compared with traditional methods.
Methods:
Career firefighters had body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) measured in addition to body fat percentage (FM%) by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). CRF as maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) was estimated by rowing machine and measured by indirect calorimetry in a treadmill exercise test.
Results:
Fifty two firefighters participated (92.3% men). Univariate correlations with BMI were best with WC. Univariate correlations with VO2max were best with FM%. Obesity classifications by BC measures agreed weakly at best. Multivariate analysis of several variables yielded an improved VO2max estimate (R2 = 0.70).
Conclusions:
Fire departments may benefit from more sophisticated measures of BC and CRF to evaluate firefighter fitness.
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