Nutritional Interventions for Firefighters – What Diet is Best?

by Andrew Gonzalez, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D, Matt McAllister, MS, and Hunter Scott Waldman, PhD, CSCS
TSAC Report January 2022
Vol 62, Issue 3

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Available to:
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Audience:
TSAC Facilitators
Topics:
Nutrition

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the most current work that has been done in examining various dietary approaches to improving markers of cardiometabolic health and performance among high-stress occupations, such as firefighters, as well as the need for additional work in this area.

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This article originally appeared in TSAC Report, the NSCA’s quarterly, online-only publication geared toward the training of tactical athletes, operators, and facilitators. It provides research-based articles, performance drills, and conditioning techniques for operational, tactical athletes. The TSAC Report is only available for NSCA Members. Read more articles from TSAC Report 

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References

1. Chaix, A, Lin, T, Le, HD, Chang, MW, and Panda, S. Timerestricted feeding prevents obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice lacking a circadian clock. Cell Metabolism 29: 303- 319, e304, 2019.

2. Dobson, M, Choi, B, Schnall, PL, Wigger, E, Garcia-Rivas, J, Israel, L, and Baker, DB. Exploring occupational and health behavioral causes of firefighter obesity: A qualitative study. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 56: 776-790, 2013.

3. Fahy, RF, Petrillo, JT, and Molis, JL. Firefighter fatalities in the US - 2019. NFPA Research, 2020.

4. Feinman, RD, Pogozelski, WK, Astrup, A, Bernstein, RK, Fine, EJ, Westman, EC, et al. Dietary carbohydrate restriction as the first approach in diabetes management: Critical review and evidence base. Nutrition 31: 1-13, 2015.

5. Gonzalez, AE, Waldman, HS, Abel, MG, McCurdy, KW, and McAllister, MJ. Impact of time restricted feeding on fitness variables in professional resistance trained firefighters. Published ahead of print. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63(4): 343-349, 2021.

6. Gu, JK, Charles, LE, Bang, KM, Ma, CC, Andrew, ME, Violanti, JM, and Burchfiel, CM. Prevalence of obesity by occupation among US workers: The National Health Interview Survey 2004- 2011. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 56: 516-528, 2014.

7. Haddock, CK, Poston, WSC, Jahnke, SA, and Jitnarin, N. Alcohol use and problem drinking among women firefighters. Womens Health Issues 27: 632-638, 2017.

8. Longo, VD and Panda, S. Fasting, circadian rhythms, and time-restricted feeding in healthy lifespan. Cell Metabolism 23: 1048-1059, 2016.

9. McAllister, MJ, Gonzalez, AE, and Waldman, HS. Impact of time restricted feeding on markers of cardiometabolic health and oxidative stress in resistance-trained firefighters. Published ahead of print. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2020.

10. McAllister, MJ, Gonzalez, AE, and Waldman, HS. Time restricted feeding reduces inflammation and cortisol response to a firegrounds test in professional firefighters. Published ahead of print. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2021.

11. McAllister, MJ, Pigg, BL, Renteria, LI, and Waldman, HS. Timerestricted feeding improves markers of cardiometabolic health in physically active college-age men: A 4-week randomized pre-post pilot study. Nutrition Research 75: 32-43, 2020.

12. Melkani, GC, and Panda, S. Time-restricted feeding for prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic disorders. Journal of Physiology 595: 3691-3700, 2017.

13. Moro, T, Tinsley, G, Bianco, A, Marcolin, G, Pacelli, QF, Battaglia, G, et al. Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males. Journal of Translational Medicine 14: 290, 2016.

14. Poston, WSC, Haddock, CK, Jahnke, SA, Jitnarin, N, and Day, RS. An examination of the benefits of health promotion programs for the national fire service. BMC Public Health 13: 805-805, 2013.

15. Stratton, MT, Tinsley, GM, Alesi, MG, Hester, GM, Olmos, AA, Serafini, PR, et al. Four weeks of time-restricted feeding combined with resistance training does not differentially influence measures of body composition, muscle performance, resting energy expenditure, and blood biomarkers. Nutrients 12: 1126, 2020.

16. Tinsley, GM, Moore, ML, Graybeal, AJ, Paoli, A, Kim, Y, Gonzales, JU, et al. Time-restricted feeding plus resistance training in active females: A randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 110: 628-640, 2019.

17. Waldman, HS, Renteria, LI, and McAllister, MJ. Time-restricted feeding for the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases in highstress occupations: A mechanistic review. Nutrition Reviews 78: 459-464, 2019.

18. Waldman, HS, Smith, JW, Lamberth, J, Fountain, BJ, Bloomer, RJ, Butawan, MB, and McAllister, MJ. A 28-day carbohydrate-restricted diet improves markers of cardiovascular disease in professional firefighters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 34(10): 2785-2792, 2020.

19. Waldman, HS, Smith, JW, Lamberth, J, Fountain, BJ, and McAllister, MJ. A 28-day carbohydrate-restricted diet improves markers of cardiometabolic health and performance in professional firefighters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 33: 3284-3294, 2019.

20. Yang, J, Farioli, A, Korre, M, and Kales, SN. Dietary preferences and nutritional information needs among career firefighters in the United States. Global Advances in Health and Medicine 4: 16-23, 2015.

About the author

Andrew Gonzalez, PhD, CSCS, TSAC-F

Texas A & M University

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Drew Gonzalez is a PhD in the Department of Kinesiology and Sports Management (KNSM) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) where he works in the Exercise and ...

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Matt McAllister, MS

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Matthew McAllister is an Assistant Professor and the Director of theMetabolic and Applied Physiology Laboratory in the Departmentof Health and Human P ...

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Hunter Scott Waldman, PhD, CSCS

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Hunter Waldman is an Assistant Professor at the University ofNorth Alabama in the Department of Kinesiology. Waldman has anestablished research agenda ...

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Available to:
Members only
Audience:
TSAC Facilitators
Topics:
Nutrition
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