Introduction
obesity, cancer, CVD
OBESITY, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, CVD, CANCER, FIRE, ADIPOSITY, HYPERTENSION, CHRONIC DISEASE
Efforts to improve the health of US firefighters are critical. The career fire service represents a working population at high risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer.Behavioral efforts that focus on education and knowledge alone are often less effective than multicomponent interventions that incorporate changes to the environment. This is particularly relevant to career firefighters, whose lifestyles are highly influenced by the fire station culture and environment, where they typically spend 48 hours per week collectively eating, sleeping, and responding to emergencies.The high prevalence of on-duty fatalities due to CVD, underlying chronic disease risk factors (eg, unhealthy diet, adiposity, hypertension, physical inactivity, occupational stress), and interest in healthier eating suggests US career firefighters may benefit from a Mediterranean nutrition intervention.