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Review
. 2025 Jan 28:30:2713.
doi: 10.4102/hsag.v30i0.2713. eCollection 2025.

Impact of physical activity on cardiovascular health in firefighters: Scoping review

Ghaleelullah Achmat  1 , Charlene Erasmus  2 , Jill Kanaley  3 , Rucia November  1 , Lloyd Leach  1
Affiliations
Review

Impact of physical activity on cardiovascular health in firefighters: Scoping review

Ghaleelullah Achmat et al. Health SA. .

Abstract

Background: Firefighters' duties include fire response, emergency medical treatment and rescue operations. Noncompliance with physical activity (PA) guidelines increases adverse health behaviours and the risk of on-duty fatalities. While PA is known to treat cardiovascular disease (CVD), its impact on risky health behaviours in firefighters is under-researched.

Aim: This scoping review aimed to evaluate PA's effects on firefighters' cardiovascular health.

Method: The review followed PRISMA-ScR and PRISMA Protocol standards, involving a comprehensive search across databases like Cochrane, PubMed, Medline, EbscoHost, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL (EBSCO), SAGE Journals, ScienceDirect and Scopus, covering publications up to June 2023. The purpose was to compile evidence on PA programs' effects on fire and rescue services (FRS).

Results: Five intervention studies were included, examining PA effects on firefighters with smoking habits, poor diet, alcohol consumption and sedentary lifestyles. These interventions recommend 150 minutes per week of aerobic, flexibility and strength activities. Firefighters should be guided to initiate and maintain 150 minutes of PA weekly to promote health strategies.

Conclusion: The study concludes that integrating lifestyle changes with low- and moderate-intensity PA into fire services is crucial for improving health risk behaviours (HRBs). Implementing multilevel interventions is necessary to drive policy changes supporting firefighters facing HRBs.

Contribution: Educating firefighters about these behaviours is essential, fostering an understanding of healthy alternatives.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; firefighters; health risk behaviour; physical activity; sedentary lifestyle.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
PRISMA flow diagram for the scoping review process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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