Addressing the Cardiometabolic Risk of Working in Physically Demanding Occupations

Physical demands and physiological strain of American football referees while officiating

OBJECTIVES

Certain occupations are associated with greater risk of triggering a sudden cardiac event because of high levels of physical exertion and extreme thermal environments in which they occur. The extent to which sports officials--particularly high school (HS) American football referees--experience these conditions is unknown. Forty-six male HS officials (72% White/Caucasian; age = 48 ± 12 years, body mass index = 31.7 ± 6.6 kg·m^-2) were studied to quantify the physiological strain and physical demands of officiating.

METHODS

Referee demographics (e.g., experience, habitual exercise), pre-game urine specific gravity (U_SG), thermal (peak core temperature [T_core]) and cardiovascular (average heart rate [HR]) strain, kinematic activity (e.g., total distance, speed, mechanical intensity), and environmental conditions were measured during 10 regular season varsity HS football games (≈2.5 h each) in the Southeastern United States (average wet bulb globe temperature and relative humidity: 18.9 ± 6.0 °C and 78.2% ± 12.1%). Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and linear regression.

RESULTS

Referees covered 5.2 ± 1.2 km per game, eliciting average HR and peak T_core of 71.5% ± 8.0% HR_max and 38.3 ± 0.5 °C, respectively; 38% began games dehydrated (U_SG = 1.026 ± 0.004). Multiple regression analyses revealed that obesity (β = 0.34), not participating in regular exercise (β = -0.36), and officiating at lower mechanical intensity (β = -0.33) predicted greater cardiovascular strain (all p ≤ 0.03). White/Caucasian race/ethnicity (β = 0.59), younger age (β = -0.46), and obesity (β = 0.28) predicted greater thermal strain (all p ≤ 0.01).

CONCLUSION

HS football referees experienced elevated levels of physiological strain while officiating, with individual factors modulating the magnitude of strain. Strategies aimed at reducing obesity, increasing exercise participation, and improving cardiovascular health should be emphasized to mitigate strain and prevent cardiac events.

A systematic review of standing and treadmill desks in the workplace

OBJECTIVES

Standing and treadmill desks are intended to reduce the amount of time spent sitting in today's otherwise sedentary office. Proponents of these desks suggest that health benefits may be acquired as standing desk use discourages long periods of sitting, which has been identified as an independent health risk factor. Our objectives were thus to analyze the evidence for standing and treadmill desk use in relation to physiological (chronic disease prevention and management) and psychological (worker productivity, well-being) outcomes.

METHODS

A computer-assisted systematic search of Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and EMBASE databases was employed to identify all relevant articles related to standing and treadmill desk use.

RESULTS

Treadmill desks led to the greatest improvement in physiological outcomes including postprandial glucose, HDL cholesterol, and anthropometrics, while standing desk use was associated with few physiological changes. Standing and treadmill desks both showed mixed results for improving psychological well-being with little impact on work performance.

DISCUSSION

Standing and treadmill desks show some utility for breaking up sitting time and potentially improving select components of health. At present; however, there exist substantial evidence gaps to comprehensively evaluate the utility of each type of desk to enhance health benefits by reducing sedentary time.