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Background: There have been concerns of an aging Australian volunteer firefighter workforce. Aims: To (1) determine the age distribution of Australian volunteer firefighters; (2) estimate the proportion of volunteer firefighters who met the Australian physical activity guidelines; (3) investigate the relationship between age and physical activity and exercise in volunteer firefighters. Methods: An online survey was electronically distributed to Rural Fire Service volunteers in Queensland, Australia. The survey included demographic and physical activity questions. National guidelines were used to determine whether respondents met the Australian physical activity recommendations. The relationships between age and weekly physical activity and weekly exercise minutes were modelled using Bayesian methods. Key results: The median age of responders (n = 480) was 54 years. Compared with Australian population data, volunteer firefighters were four times more likely to meet the physical activity guidelines and the exercise-only guidelines, but 1.4 times more likely to not meet the strength-based activity guidelines. Number of weekly physical activity minutes declined with age, by 61 min each decade. Conclusions: Volunteers were more likely to meet the national physical activity and exercise-only guidelines, but less likely to meet the strength-based activity guidelines. Implications: Volunteer firefighters could benefit from outreach programs that promote participation in strength-based training. This cross-sectional study investigated the age and physical activity status of Australian volunteer firefighters. The mean age was 51.4 years. We found that volunteer firefighters were more likely to meet the national physical activity and exercise-only guidelines, but less likely to meet the strength-based training guidelines compared with the general Australian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores recent claims that humans exhibit minimum cost of transport (CoTmin) for running, which occurs at intermediate speed, and assesses individual physiological, gait, and training characteristics. Methods: Twelve healthy participants with varying levels of fitness and running experience ran on a treadmill at six self-selected speeds in a discontinuous protocol over three sessions. Running speed (km·h-1), V̇O2 (mL·kg-1·km-1), CoT (kcal·km-1), HR (bpm), and cadence (steps per minute) were continuously measured. V̇O2max was measured on the fourth testing session. The occurrence of CoTmin was investigated, and its presence or absence was examined with respect to fitness, gait, and training characteristics. Results: Five participants showed clear CoTmin at intermediate speed and a statistically significant (P < 0.05) quadratic CoT-speed function, whereas the other participants did not show such evidence. Participants were then categorized and compared with respect to the strength o f evidence for CoTmin (ClearCoTmin and NoCoTmin). The ClearCoTmin group displayed a significantly higher correlation between speed and cadence, more endurance training and exercise sessions per week, and a marginally nonsignificant but higher aerobic capacity than the NoCoTmin group. Some runners still showed CoTmin at intermediate speed even after subtraction of resting energy expenditure. Conclusions: The findings confirm the existence of optimal speed for human running in some but not all participants. Those exhibiting COTmin undertook higher volume of running, ran with a cadence that was more consistently modulated with speed, and tended to be aerobically fitter. The ability to minimize energetic CoT seems not to be a ubiquitous feature of human running but may emerge in some individuals with extensive running experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dehydration and symptoms of heat illness are common among the surface mining workforce. This investigation aimed to determine whether heat strain and hydration status exceeded recommended limits., Methods: Fifteen blast crew personnel operating in the tropics were monitored across a 12-hour shift. Heart rate, core body temperature, and urine-specific gravity were continuously recorded. Participants self-reported fluid consumption and completed a heat illness symptom inventory., Results: Core body temperature averaged 37.46 ± 0.13°C, with the group maximum 37.98 ± 0.19°C. Mean urine-specific gravity was 1.024 ± 0.007, with 78.6% of samples 1.020 or more. Seventy-three percent of workers reported at least one symptom of heat illness during the shift., Conclusions: Core body temperature remained within the recommended limits; however, more than 80% of workers were dehydrated before commencing the shift, and tended to remain so for the duration.