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Eady,
T. (1995) ‘Mid-Life Crisis’ In Fitness Within The Fire Service Workforce,
http://www.fitting-in.com/eady.htm
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SUMMARYThe purpose of this report is two fold. Firstly, it was completed by the author as his submission as a work related report as part of the JOA Course at the Fire Service College, and the opinions expressed are his own and not that of the West Sussex Fire Brigade. Secondly, to illustrate the physiological decline of the body due to the process of ageing. To relate this process to Fire Service lifestyle and activity, the ultimate aim being to educate personnel into the early establishment of behaviour and exercise habits beneficial both to physical performance and good health. Physiological and performance capability generally declines after about 30 years of age. The rates of decline in .the various functions differ however, and are significantly influenced by many factors, including the level of physical activity. It appears that regular physical training enables older personnel to retain higher levels of functional capacity (than sedentary counterparts), especially in cardiovascular functions. The magnitude of the improvements achieved by regular physical training depends on many factors including initial fitness level, age, type and amount of training. Personnel, as they advance through their career's and are promoted into more sedentary roles within the Service, must embark on and maintain regular worthwhile physical activities and integrate these into their daily workloads. These actions, along with a healthy lifestyle and the habits formed throughout life, will produce the significant benefit of good health - a priceless commodity. |
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CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction Physical Factors and Ageing 2.1 Strength 2.2 Neural Function 2.3 Cardiovascular Function 2.4 Respiratory Function 2.5 Body Composition 2.6 Summary of Physiological Functions 3.0 Fire Service Lifestyle and Activity 4.0 Information and Data Collection 4.1 Questionnaire 4.2 Results and Analysis 5.0 Recommendations 6.0 Appendices 7.0 References 8.0 Bibliography 9.0 Acknowledgements |
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INTRODUCTION
There is no question that the physiology and performance capabilities of older personnel differ from those of young adult recruits. What is not so clear, however, the extent to which these differences are due to true biological ageing, or are the results of sociological restraints that alter the lifestyles and activity opportunities for personnel as they grow older.
If an active lifestyle is continued throughout life and into later years, a relatively high level of function is retained and vigorous activity can be engaged in successfully and safely, with associated benefits in mental agility also.
2.0 PHYSICAL FACTORS AND AGEING
2.1 Strength: Firefighters have always maintained strength performance at above average levels. Generally strength potential is maintained more easily than cardiovascular performance, which can be lost in a third of the time it took to achieve.
Maximum strength of men and women is generally achieved between the ages of 20 - 30, at the time when muscular cross-section is usually the largest. Thereafter there is a progressive decline in strength for most muscle groups. This is due primarily to a reduced muscle mass (3 % every decade after the age of 25) that reflects a loss of total muscle protein brought about by inactivity, ageing or both.
Indirect evidence indicates that habitual physical training facilitates protein retention and thus delays strength decrement with ageing.
2.2 Neural Function: Directly associated with muscular activity is reaction time. Reaction time is divided into central processing time (brain) and muscle reaction time.
Ageing causes a 37% reduction in the transmitting capacity of the brain/spinal cord, a 10% reduction in nerve conduction velocity and a significant loss in the elastic properties of the connective tissues. In short, ageing affects the ability to detect a stimulus and process the information to produce a response. Automatic responses (ie knee jerk reaction) do not involve processing in the brain and consequently are less affected by the ageing process.
Quick actions and responsiveness are vital elements within effective firefighting. The decline of neural function is gradual, however, research has shown that an active lifestyle may significantly and positively affect movement time at any age, retarding the biological/ageing of certain neuromuscular functions.
2.3 Cardiovascular
Function: The most well established
age related factor is the decline in maximal heart rate. This apparent age
effect is progressive with advancing
years and appears to occur to the same extent in both active and Sedentary men and women. Maximum heart rate (beats per min) = 220 - age
(years)
As a
consequence of a lower maximum heart rate, maximum cardiac output is reduced
with age. Also contributing to this reduced blood flow capacity is a reduction
in the heart's stroke volume.
Other
age related changes in the cardiovascular system include a reduction in
peripheral blood flow capacity. This may be due to a decease in the capillary
to muscle fibre ratio and reduction in arterial cross sectional area.
Whether the preceding changes in cardiovascular
functions are as a direct result of the ageing process per se or of a lack of
habitual physical activity, has not been
determined. In fact, sedentary
living may bring losses in functional
capacity that are as great as the effects of ageing itself.
Regular
exercise, however, enables older individuals to retain cardiovascular
functioning much above age-paired sedentary subjects.
In
trials, previously active middle aged personnel followed a regular endurance
exercise programme over a 10 year period. The usual 9 - 15 % decline in
work capacity and maximum aerobic power was forestalled. In fact, at the age of
55 these active men had maintained the same values for blood pressure, body
weight and VO2 max, that were measured
a decade earlier.
Respiratory
Function: With advancing age, the airways and tissues of
the respiratory tract, including the air sacs, become less elastic and more
rigid. In addition the chest wall becomes more rigid. As a result there is a
decrease in pulmonary lung capacity. In
fact, vital capacity (the amount of air moved by maximal inspiration followed by maximal expiration)
can decrease as much as 30% by
retirement age. There is also a decrease in blood levels of oxygen.
Owing to all these age related factors, as one
ages one becomes more susceptible to
pneumonia, bronchitis and other pulmonary disorders. Aerobic training improves
the conditions and efficiency of breathing muscles so the body can utilise more
lung capacity during exercise. Residual volume (that portion of lung capacity
that cannot be used) increases with age and inactivity. Regular aerobic training can halve or even reverse
this decline and ensure adequate respiration throughout life.
Body Composition:
A natural consequence directly
related to the ageing process is the change in body composition. From the age
of 25, 3% of lean muscle tissue is
replaced by fatty tissue every 10 years. Therefore, even if a constant weight
is maintained the proportion of lean to fatty tissue will change and the
"waistline will expand", as fatty tissue is less dense than muscular
tissue.
If
this increase in fatty tissue is combined with a decrease in activity the
problem will 'expand' and in certain, extreme circumstances obesity
will develop.
Once
this fatty tissue has accumulated the only way to remove it (bar surgery) is by
a programme of dieting and exercise. However, this cannot be achieved
overnight, and the later in life it is started the longer it takes to complete.
It must be undertaken in a structured
and gradual manner to avoid metabolic complications such as weight cycling.
Summary of Physiological Functions: It can be seen from the previous
sections that regular physical activity produces physiological improvements
regardless of age. The effect of these changes depends on several factors,
including initial fitness, status, age and the specific type of training.
With
regard to the age factor, it appears that older individuals are not able to
improve their strength and endurance capacity to the same extent as younger
subjects. So, the message is, start young and keep it up!
3.0 Fire Service Lifestyle And Activity
This
can best be quantified by age, rank and responsibility. Firefighters at ages 18
-30 join the Brigade with a high level of fitness and motivation.
The
Chelsea Report (1987) stated that fitness levels 1 year into a recruits career
were lower than at its inception. As a result. Brigades, including West Sussex,
have introduced comprehensive fitness training programmes to address this
issue.
All
watch personnel are required (compulsorily) to undertake 45 minutes physical
training on each shift. This is to
incorporate all the basic elements of fitness (cardiovascular, strength,
flexibility etc). For this to be undertaken, equipment and time is allocated
from the working day.
Officers
on day duties are required to undertake physical training on two occasion per
week, but no specific time is allocated for this. It is significantly much
harder for the day duty officer to set aside time to undertake physical
training. However, this is achieved by many
officers who skilfully manage their working day. Many officers complete
a training session prior to the start of the day and consequently reap the
benefits.
The physical role of the fire fighter is at the
forefront in the image of the public. However,
with the advances in technology and equipment, the physical demands are
lessening. So the numbers of occasions which require large degrees of physical
effort, even over a short period of time, are less and less frequent.
Unfortunately, this can lead to a state of professional arrogance and belief
that one's fitness is adequate to tackle anything.
As
personnel progress through the ranks the quantity of physical activity is
replaced with that of more sedentary
duties, albeit still interspersed with the occasional operational incident.
The popular tendency is to downgrade the priority of the personal physical training programme below
that of the daily workload until physical training is almost non-existent.
This, at a time when responsibility is increasing, is deleterious.
It
is vital, therefore, that high and middle ranking personnel are encouraged to maintain healthy active lifestyles in
order to gain the best from themselves.
At present
the Brigade has made attempts to address this with the introduction of an
Occupational Health Scheme and a 3 yearly medical for all personnel. At
these medicals personnel are checked for blood pressure, "correct"
weight, eyesight etc.
Whilst
this is a step forward and positive remedial action is taken to assist
personnel who fall below set standards,
the common assumption if someone is overweight for example, is that they have 3
years before they have to lose the excess weight and are oblivious or ignorant
of the consequences of obesity and sedentary lifestyle.
Additionally,
no penalty is levied against heavy smokers, who not only risk their own health,
but the health of their colleagues.
4.0 Information And Data Collection An example of the circulated questionnaire is given in
Appendix 'A' of this report.
The questionnaire was issued not only to watch
officers and retained personnel but supervisory officers responsible for
training and recruitment, station and senior management.
This
was done in order to achieve a complete cross section of personnel within the
Brigade.
Replies
to the questionnaire were to be anonymous in the hope that a genuine response
would be achieved.
4.1 The
Questionnaire: The purpose of the questionnaire was to gauge the
attitude of personnel towards the
fitness standards required in relation to the rank and age
of the individual.
Respondents
replied by answering simple questions on a 1 - 5 scale, relating to whether
they agreed with or disagreed with the question statement.
4.2 Results: The score for the response
to each question is represented in the form of a graph in Appendix B
at the end of this report.
4.2.1 Question Analysis -
to be read in conjunction with questionnaire (Appendix A)
Question
1: All questioned,
including officers, agreed conclusively that current fitness standards are
adequate for potential recruits to complete training school. This perception was aided by
the contributions of middle
ranking and senior officers during initial stages of the recruit
selection process.
Question 2: In
response, personnel questioned felt
that it was not realistic for a 55 year old firefighter to maintain the same
fitness level as an 18 year old recruit.
Question
3: Whilst there are a pleasing number of
notable exceptions within the Brigade, the majority of respondents disagreed
that it would be realistic to expect this standard.
Question
4: For
a watch commander to distribute physical tasks amongst his/her watch personnel, the majority agreed
that this was possible. It goes without saying that a commonsense and
even-handed approach are essential in achieving this.
Question
5: On the more radical suggestion of physical and
efficiency tests being completed in a 'team format9, the responses indicated a
tendency to favour the idea. However,
the answers were less conclusive, preferring the mid ground.
Question
6: With regard to
the relevance of senior supervisory officers achieving the same fitness
standards of subordinates, the majority of personnel questioned felt it was
relevant. However, when
the respondents were isolated in
groups, the officers were more evenly divided with the balance in favour of
achieving the same fitness standards as the subordinate ranks.
Question
7: A very positive response to this question
highlighted the continuing need for senior management to be able to keep in
touch with the 'sharp end' of the operational commitment of the Brigade.
Factors such as single tier entry and the role played by senior management in
recruitment aid this perception.
Question
8: A very open
question, answered in a variety of ways. The answers have been divided into two
main categories:
a. Watch
personnel
b. Officers
This
is due to the fact that although time is available to officers for physical
training, there is no specific time period allocated each day (which puts more
emphasis on self motivation and time management).
Watch personnel:
Circuits were twice as popular as team games -recognising the flexibility and benefits of this format over a
short period of time. Personnel are able to work at their own pace and level
within the circuit, whereas team games, although good for motivation, do not
sufficiently stress personnel physically (raise and maintain heart rate into
training range) and statistically are far more injury prone.
Officers:
The most popular option for 30 minute exercise
was swimming, being twice as popular as
the next closest option, aerobics (mainly due to the popularity of the sessions
arranged in 'A' Division).
5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of my research, I would make the following recommendations to improve/maintain fitness of personnel
throughout their Fire Service career.
1. Prioritise recruitment of individuals who
have already developed and practise healthy lifestyles.
2. Insert a compulsory no smoking clause into
the contract of every firefighter (this is already commonplace in some American
Fire Departments).
3. Extend and develop the Occupational Health
Scheme to increase the frequency of medical or facilitate spot checks of
personnel whose fitness standards fall below
acceptable levels.
4. Introduce a comprehensive programme of
education to inform personnel of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
5. Place a greater emphasis on physical
exercise in the daily routine of all Fire Service personnel and actively
encourage workable physical activity both on and off duty.
6. All through ones Fire Service career,
equipment is regularly checked and tested before and after use. To prevent the onset of a "mid life
crisis" timely programs of physical exercise combined with healthy
lifestyles should be instigated and maintained. These cannot be imposed however,
they must be driven from within.
6.0 APPENDICES
Appendix
A Example of circulated questionnaire
Appendix
B Graph showing results of the questionnaire
Appendix
C Chart illustrating
questionnaire results
7.0 REFERENCES
i.
JOA Leadership and Management Phase - Course preparation data.
ii. Fire Service Circular 6/1988 Chelsea
College Report - The Physical Fitness of
Firemen - University of London.
8.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY
de
Vries HA (1986) "Physiology of Exercise for Physical Education and
Athletes" Wm
C Brown, Dubque, lona
MacLeod
D, Maughan R, Nimmo M,
Reilly T, Williams C (1987) "Exercise
Benefits, Limits and Adaptations" E and FN Spon - London
McArdle WD, Katch
FI KatchVL
(1981) "Exercise Physiology, Energy Nutrition and Human
Performance" Lea and Febiger
- Philadelphia
Sharkey BJ (1990)
"Physiology of Fitness" (3rd Edition) Human Kinetics Publishers - Illinois
Tortora GJ, Anagnostakos NP (1990) "Principles of Anatomy and
Physiology" (6th Edition) Harper and Row - New York
9.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to acknowledge the
assistance of the following in the compilation of this report.
i. The
personnel of the West Sussex Fire Brigade who completed and returned
their questionnaires without whose contributions I would have been unable to
gauge the attitude of personnel in this area.
ii. Fire Service College Tutors, Roy Jenkins
and Jeremy Arter for their advice in the compilation of this report.
iii. Fire Service College Library Staff for
their assistance on the IT content of this report.
iv. Mrs
Gina Scotting for word processing the final draft.
Appendix A
FIRE SERVICE PHYSICAL
FITNESS SURVEY
This research is being undertaken as part of
the JOA Course at the Fire Service College
Please specify: Age:___________ Length of Service:________________ Rank:
Job Responsibility ie: Operational/Watch Member/Fire
Safety/Senior Management/Retained/Day Staff
Please do not state
your name on this survey
The purpose of this questionnaire is
to gauge the attitude of personnel towards the fitness standards required in
relation to the rank and ages of the individual.
Please answer all the questions to
the best of your knowledge by indicating whether you agree or disagree with the
points raised by ticking the appropriate number. For example, if you are
undecided tick number 3.
1. Do you feel that the current fitness
standards for recruit firefighiers are adequate to enable them to effectively complete the rigours at
training school and subsequently become operational firefighters?
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Agree
2. In the case of serving firefighters, do
you feel that a 55 year old senior watch firefighter should be able to maintain the same
fitness level as an 18 year old recruit firefighter?
Disagree 1 2
3 4 5 Agree
3. In relation to question 2, do you believe that it would be
realistic to expect this standard in most
cases?
Disagree 1 2
3 4 5 Agree
4. Do you feel that it is
possible for a watch commander to distribute the physical tasks that may
b& encountered to take into
account ages, fitness levels within his watch personnel, ie BA, driving etc?
Disagree 1 2
3 4 5 Agree
5. Do you feel that
physical tests to indicate fitness and efficiency should be done in a team
format ie utilising all members of the watch to complete specific tasks
within an acceptable time (safey
factors accepted) rather than individual associated tests?
Disagree 1 2
3 4 5 Agree
Do you feel that it is relevant for
senior supervisory officers to achieve the same operational physical fitness
standards as firefighters, even though it would be highly unlikely for the
senior officer to be engaged in the same duties at an operational incident?
Disagree 1 2
3 4 5 Agree
In the light of your response to the
previous question, do you feel the supervisory officer must have an accurate
appreciation of the workloads and physical demands on his subordinates?
Disagree 1 2
3 4 5 Agree
If you had to spend 30 minutes per
day undertaking a worthwhile PT activity that could be worked in with your day,
what would it be?
Thank you for the time taken to
complete this survey. Please forward it to:
Sub Officer Tim Eady Blue Watch
Station 20 Bognor Regis
APPENDIX C
|
SERVICE |
RANK |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Q5 |
Q6 |
Q7 |
QUESTION 8 |
|
|
27 |
SUBO |
4 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
TEAM GAMES |
|
|
3 |
FF |
5 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
TEAM GAMES |
|
|
11 |
FF |
5 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
25 |
STNO |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
AEROBICS |
|
|
21 |
FF |
3 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
NO ANSWER |
|
|
24 |
FF |
3 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
VOLLEYBALL |
|
|
9 |
LFF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
5 |
FF |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
TEAM GAMES |
|
|
20 |
STNO |
4 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
25 |
LFF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
SQUASH |
|
|
9 |
FF |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
VOLLEYBALL |
|
|
30 |
STNO |
4 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
23 |
FF |
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
20 |
FIREFIGHTER |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
AEROBICS |
|
|
24 |
FF |
5 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
10 |
LFF |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
10 |
FF |
5 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
12 |
LFF |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
17 |
LFF |
5 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
NO ANSWER |
|
|
20 |
FF |
3 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
NO ANSWER |
|
|
10 |
LFF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
VOLLEYBALL |
|
|
20 |
FF |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
TEAM GAMES |
|
|
20 |
DO |
3 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
16 |
STNO |
4 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
TEAM GAMES |
|
|
25 |
ADO |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
16 |
ADO |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
AEROBICS |
|
|
15 |
SUBO |
4 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
5 |
FF |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
27 |
STNO |
4 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
CYCLING |
|
|
9 |
SUBO |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
AEROBICS |
|
|
9 |
SUBO |
5 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
NO ANSWER |
|
|
17 |
DO |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
ROWING |
|
|
22 |
SUBO |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
NO ANSWER |
|
|
28 |
DO |
5 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
14 |
SUBO |
3 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
CIRCUITS) |
|
|
28 |
ADO |
5 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
SWIMMING |
|
|
14 |
SUBO |
5 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
30 |
DO |
5 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
AEROBICS |
|
|
20 |
ADO |
5 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
CIRCUITS |
|
|
27 |
DO |
5 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
ROWING |
|
|
20 |
FF |
5 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
BADMINTON |
|
|
TOTALS |
|
173 |
71 |
72 |
153 |
132 |
142 |
199 |
|
|
|
AVERAGE |
|
4.219512 |
1.731707 |
1.756098 |
3.731707 |
3.219512 |
3.463415 |
4.853659 |
|
|
Appendix B
|
|