Firefighters seem to be pretty healthy people. After all, you work out a lot, right?
But what do you eat?
Now look, I’m not your dad—but exercising doesn’t give you carte blanche to eat junk.
But that’s exactly what my guest on this edition of Code 3 says is happening.
Susie Day, PhD, is a Professor of Epidemiology at University of Texas’ School of Public Heath in Houston.
Her training is in nutritional and occupational epidemiology.
She’s been doing research with her colleagues about firefighters for the last 9 years with funding from FEMA and NIH.
They’re doing studies on cardiovascular disease, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, alcohol, smoking, stress, sleep and other lifestyle behaviors in about 2000 firefighters across the nation.
A newspaper story about the study
Article: Implementing a Firehouse Nutrition Program
Trivia question:
You may have a fairly elaborate mustache—a lot of firefighters do.
But do you know how the tradition started?
Answer:
The tradition of firefighters wearing mustaches began in the 1960’s as a reaction to fire department regulations forbidding beards because they interfered with SCBA masks.
For decades before SCBA’s, some firefighters wore both beards and mustaches because they felt they helped filter out smoke on fires.
