Aerobic Capacity, Physical Activity and Metabolic Risk Factors in Firefighters Compared with Police Officers and Sedentary Clerks: e0133113

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 7
• Main Authors: Leischik, Roman, Foshag, Peter, Straus, Markus, Littwitz, Henning, Garg, Pankaj, Dworrak, Birgit, Horlitz, Marc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.2015
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133113

Background This study examined the association between the physical work environment and physiological performance measures, physical activity levels and metabolic parameters among German civil servants. A main focus in this study was to examine the group differences rather than measuring the absolute values in an occupational group. Methods We prospectively examined 198 male German civil servants (97 firefighters [FFs], 55 police officers [POs] and 46 sedentary clerks [SCs]). For each parameter, the groups were compared using a linear regression adjusted for age. Results The 97 FFs showed a similar maximal aerobic power (VO2max l/min) of 3.17 plus or minus 0.44 l/min compared with the POs, who had a maximal aerobic power of 3.13 plus or minus 0.62 l/min (estimated difference, POs vs. FFs: 0.05, CI: -0.12-0.23, p=0.553). The maximal aerobic power of the FFs was slightly higher than that of the SCs, who had a maximal aerobic power of 2.85 plus or minus 0.52 l/min (-0.21, CI: -0.39-0.04, p=0.018 vs. FFs). The average physical activity (in metabolic equivalents [METS]/week) of the FFs was 3818.8 plus or minus 2843.5, whereas those of the POs and SCs were 2838.2 plus or minus 2871.9 (-808.2, CI: 1757.6-141.2, p=0.095) and 2212.2 plus or minus 2292.8 (vs. FFs: -1417.1, CI: -2302-531.88, p=0.002; vs. POs: -2974.4, CI: -1611.2-393.5, p=0.232), respectively. For the FFs, the average body fat percentage was 17.7% plus or minus 6.2, whereas it was 21.4% plus or minus 5.6 for the POs (vs. FFs: 2.75, CI: 0.92-4.59, p=0.004) and 20.8% plus or minus 6.5 for the SCs (vs. FFs: 1.98, CI: -0.28-4.25, p=0.086; vs. POs: -0.77, CI: 3.15-1.61, p=0.523). The average waist circumference was 89.8 cm plus or minus 10.0 for the FFs, 97.8 cm plus or minus 12.4 (5.63, CI: 2.10-9.15, p=0.002) for the POs, and 97.3 plus or minus 11.7 (vs. FFs: -4.89, CI: 1.24-8.55, p=0.009; vs. POs: -0.73, CI: -5.21-3.74, p=0.747) for the SCs. Conclusions The FFs showed significantly higher physical activity levels compared with the SCs. The PO group had the highest cardiovascular risk of all of the groups because it included more participants with metabolic syndrome; furthermore, the POs had an average of 2.75% higher body fat, lower HDL cholesterol values and higher waist circumferences compared with the FFs and higher LDL cholesterol values compared with the SCs. Our data indicate that sedentary occupations appear to be linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome in middle-aged men.