Background: Emergency medical services (EMS) professionals demonstrate low adherence to physical activity guidelines and experience a high prevalence of obesity and incidence of injury. The authors investigate the barriers to participating in physical activity among EMS professionals.
Methods: The EMS professionals employed by 15 North Carolina EMS agencies were surveyed with validated items. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval) of not meeting physical activity guidelines for each barrier to being active, controlling for age, sex, body mass index category, race/ethnicity, certification and education level, and work hours.
Results: A total of 1367 EMS professionals were invited to participate, and 359 complete responses were recorded. Half of the respondents (48.2%) met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention physical activity guidelines. According to standard body mass index categories, 55.9% were obese. There were increased odds of not meeting physical activity guidelines for the following barriers: lack of energy (5.32, 3.12-9.09), lack of willpower (4.31, 2.57-7.22), lack of time (3.55, 2.12-5.94), social influence (3.02, 1.66-5.48), and lack of resources (2.14, 1.12-4.11). The barriers of fear of injury and lack of skill were not associated with meeting physical activity guidelines.
Conclusion: Half of EMS professionals did not meet physical activity guidelines, and the majority were obese. Significant associations exist between several modifiable barriers and not meeting physical activity guidelines.
Keywords: first responder; injury; obesity.