By Mary Jane Dittmar
Fire Engineering/FireEngineering.com
ALTERING LIFE STYLE TO LOWER THE DEATH RATE
The top three of “the most common actual causes of death” in the United States in 2000, according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were tobacco (435,000 deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000), and alcohol consumption (85,000). The CDC defines “actual causes of death” as lifestyle and behavior that contribute to heart disease, cancer, and stroke.
Amazingly, eight of the nine causes of death on the CDC list can be controlled by lifestyle changes, although we may have more control over some of the factors than others.
In addition to the three causes of death cited above, the CDC list of death causes includes, in order of mention, microbial agents such as influenza and pneumonia (75,000); toxic agents (55,000); motor vehicle accidents (43,000), firearms (29,000), sexual behavior (20,000), and illicit use of drugs (17,000).
The CDC has instituted many initiatives to help with the altering of these health-eroding behaviors. You can read about them at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphy/factsheets/death_causes2000.htm/.
Poor diet and physical inactivity have received much attention in the fire service, particularly in relation to fact that close to half of the line-of-duty deaths (LODD) for the past several years have been related to stress and cardiovascular diseases. The major fire service organizations individually or in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) have instituted physical fitness and stress-reduction programs. Motor vehicle accidents, which have been associated with almost 25 percent of LODD deaths, also have been under study by the fire service. (Some of the current projects (partnerships) between FEMA/USFA and fire service organizations in these areas will be part of a new technology article that will be published in the May issue of Fire Engineering).
The National Volunteer Fire Council’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, made its debut at Fire-Rescue East in Jacksonville, Florida, in January. Nearly 300 attendees had their cholesterol tested without charge at the Heart-Healthy booth. Within 10 minutes, attendees received the test results. All received a NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Kit, which includes information on firefighters and heart disease, cholesterol, fitness, nutrition, and resource information.
FDIC 2004 (April 26-May 1) is offering an eight-hour workshop on the “Essential Components to Construct a Successful Fitness/Wellness Program,” presented by Captain Shawn Perry of the Sacramento (CA) Fire Department.
Among other FDIC classes addressing heart health are the following: “Reducing Cardiovascular Disease,” ” What to Include in Your Health & Safety Program,” “Straight Talk About Stress for Emergency Responders,” and “The Cardiac Tool Kit.”
How are you planning to use all this information to help you and your fellow firefighters make those most common actual causes of death a little less common in the fire service?
Do you have a health or safety tip or story to share? Is there an issue you’d like to see covered? Contact maryjd@pennwell.com or call (973) 251-5052.
Mary Jane Dittmar is senior associate editor of Fire Engineering magazine and FireEngineering.com. Before joining the magazine in 1991, she served as editor of a trade magazine in the health/nutrition market and held various positions in the educational and medical advertising fields. She has a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and a master’s degree in communication arts.
