TY - JOUR JO - Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine J2 - Ann Agric Environ Med. SN - 1232-1966 VL - 22 IS - 3 PY - 2015 ID - Gałązkowski2015 TI - Evaluation of overweight and obesity in Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) worker AB - Introduction Obesity now affects people from all walks of life, including those who work in the field of medical aid provision on a daily basis. So far, there has been no research assessing the nutrition status of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) crews. Objectives To evaluate the degree to which overweight and obesity prevail among Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Air Ambulances (HEMS LPR) crew members, and determine the overall excess body fat and fatty tissue distribution in the subjects. Material and methods In order to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in HEMS crew members, the following anthropometric measurements were used: height, body mass, waist and hip circumferences. Assessment of their nutritional status was made by using some generally used indicators, i.e. calculating the subjects’ BMI, WHR and WHtR. Results Pilots were older than the paramedics in a statistically significant way. On the basis of using the BMI indicator, it was shown that only 36% of HEMS crew members had normal body weight. Analysis of the percentage of body fat determined that 61.5% of the paramedics and 39.4% of the pilots had normal weight. 26.2% paramedics and 28.8% pilots were diagnosed as overweight. Obesity characterised 12.3% of paramedics and 31.8% of pilots. The above were statistically significant differences (p= 0.0117). Waist circumference exceeded 102 cm in 25.9% of the subjects and WHR>1 characterised 20.6% of those examined. Conclusions Analysis of the results obtained revealed that an alarmingly high percentage of crew members suffer from excessive body mass and fat, particularly in the group of pilots. Immediate action should be taken in order to reduce the body mass and introduce preventive measures among the subjects. AU - Gałązkowski, Robert AU - Gaździńska, Agata AU - Kopka, Marcin AU - Drozdowski, Robert AU - Wyleżoł, Mariusz SP - 542 EP - 545 DA - 2015 DO - 10.5604/12321966.1167731 UR - https://doi.org/10.5604/12321966.1167731 ER -