Nutrition Knowledge Of Firefighters

PURPOSE: Firefighting is a physically demanding occupation, requiring high levels of fitness. Optimal dietary intake may help optimize occupational performance and overall health. There is a paucity of literature relative to nutrition knowledge among firefighters and specific areas of weakness regarding key nutritional concepts. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the nutrition knowledge of fire firefighters and any potential trends or deficiencies. METHODS: Forty-four career firefighters (Women, n = 4; Age: 35.7 ± 8.7 yrs.; Height: 1.82 ± 0.07 m; Weight: 91.6 ± 14.3 kg; Body Mass Index: 28.3 ± 3.9 kg·m-2) participated in a cross-sectional study. Firefighters completed a validated questionnaire (Abridged Sports Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (ASNK-Q)), which included 35 total questions designed to assess general (n = 11) and performance-specific nutritional recommendations (n = 24). Responses were scored upon submission to yield an overall score and interpreted as “poor” knowledge (0-49%), “average” knowledge (50-65%), “good” knowledge (66-75%) and “excellent” knowledge (75-100%). RESULTS: Firefighters answered 42.9 ± 14.8% of questions correctly, which is classified as “poor.” Firefighters answered 53.8 ± 11.2% of the general nutrition knowledge questions correctly, classified as “average” and answered 36.7 ± 10.5% of performance-specific questions correctly, classified as “poor”. Topics of foremost knowledge deficiency included micronutrient (Q8,9,22,23,24) and water/hydration guidelines (Q25,26), with only 15.7 ± 5.9% and 1.2 ± 0.7% of firefighters answering these questions correctly, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Firefighters have a ‘poor’ level of understanding regarding general and performance-specific nutrition concepts. Because of the physically demanding nature of their occupation, firefighters could likely benefit from a nutrition education intervention, with micronutrients and hydration representing two key areas of focus.