Assessing Firefighter Perceptions of Exercise on Disease and Illness Risk
Nicholas A. Buoncristiani, Gena R. Gerstner, Amber N. Schmitz, Kristen L. Kucera, Alice S. Ammerman, Kiran N. Gosrani, Eric D. RyanObjective:
This study aimed to quantify firefighter awareness of a lack of exercise on disease risk and examine demographic and health-related factors.
Methods:
Firefighters (n=252) completed body composition testing and a survey assessing demographics, physical activity (PA), and perception of a lack of exercise on disease risk.
Results:
The majority (86.9%) identified ≥1 disease category that individuals were at a higher risk of developing due to a lack of exercise but were less likely (≤8.3%) to identify current high-priority fire service health concerns. Greater PA and having a college degree were associated with higher odds of reporting more disease categories.
Conclusions:
Most firefighters perceived a lack of exercise with increased disease risk, however, future efforts should improve awareness of exercise benefits for high-priority firefighter concerns (e.g. cancer, mental health), accounting for PA and education levels.