269785 Differential Obesity Measures for the Firefighter Wellness and Fitness (WEFIT) Program: BMI, Waist Circumference, or Skin-fold Body Fat?

Sunday, October 28, 2012

BongKyoo Choi, ScD MPH , Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Leslie Israel, DO MPH , Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Peter Schnall, MD, MPH , Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, Marina Del Rey, CA
Marnie Dobson, PhD , Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Javier Garcia-Rivas, MS , Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Dale Steiss, MS , Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Dean Baker, MD MPH , Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
Most previous cardiovascular risk factor studies in firefighters have been carried out using BMI as the obesity measure. Few studies have used alternative obesity measures such as skinfold-based percent body fat and waist circumference. Few studies have explored the differential relationships of three obesity measures (body mass index (BMI), skin-fold body %, and waist circumference) with VO2 max and other CVD risk factors (i.e., hypertension and blood lipid profiles) in firefighters. This paper presents preliminary findings from the on-going FORWARD study (Choi et al., 2011) based on 28 male firefighters in a Southern California county. The adiposity of each of 28 firefighters was assessed at their Wellness and Fitness (WEFIT) exams in three ways: BMI; body fat % based on 3-site skinfolds; and waist circumference. VO2 max, blood pressure, and lipid profiles (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL) were measured at their WEFIT exams. The obesity prevalence in 28 firefighters did not vary much by the three measures: BMI (≥ 30 kg/m2), 25%; skinfold body fat % (> 25%), 28.6%; and waist circumference (> 102 cm), 28.6%. BMI was more strongly correlated with waist circumference than with body fat % (Spearman rho = 0.88 vs. 0.69). BMI and waist circumference were more strongly correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure and triglycerides, while body fat % was more strongly correlated with HDL and VO2 max. This preliminary finding will be further tested in a much larger sample of firefighters (n > 370) at the end of the FORWARD study.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Occupational health and safety
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health biology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
To discuss the differential relationships of three obesity measures (body mass index (BMI), skin-fold body %, and waist circumference) with VO2 max and other CVD risk factors (i.e., hypertension and blood lipid profiles) in firefighters

Keywords: Obesity, Occupational Health Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal investigator of the NIOSH funded project: Occupational and behavioral risk factors for obesity in firefighters (Grant #, 1R21OH009911-01)
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.