Prevalence and predictors of obesity among women in the fire service

Abstract

ObjectivesFirefighter health has received a great deal of increased attention over the past decade, but most work has been specific to men in the fire service due to small numbers of women, likely due to challenges with recruitment and retention of women in the fire service. While findings suggest men in the fire service struggle with high rates of overweight and obesity due to a number of occupational challenges, limited data are available on large samples of women firefighters.MethodsUsing snowball sampling techniques, we conducted an online survey of both career (N=2,398) and volunteer (N=781) women firefighters.ResultsRates of obesity for both career (15.4%) and volunteer (31.6%) women firefighters were not only lower than men in the fire service (33.5% career and 43.2% volunteer), but also lower than the general population (41.1%). Women career and volunteer firefighters who engaged in heavy physical activity were less likely to be obese. Being a racial or ethnic minority firefighter was associated with being obese, as was serving more than 20 years in the fire service.ConclusionFindings highlight that women firefighters have been successful in overcoming the occupational risks, such as a challenging nutrition environment, inconsistent schedules, limited time for fitness, and the metabolic impact of shift work, that put firefighters at increased risk for obesity.