A study by researchers from Tallinn University of Technology and Riga Technical University, published in Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, found that nearly 55 percent of firefighters in Estonia and Latvia are overweight or obese.

The study examined the health data, physical activity and psychosocial working conditions of more than 1,000 firefighters in Estonia and Latvia, ERR News writes.

The study was conducted by Marina Järvis, Karin Reinhold and Jelena Hartšenko from Tallinn University of Technology, together with Tatjana Tambovceva, Jeļena Pundure and Evija Liepa-Hazaleja from Riga Technical University. It examined the health data, physical activity and psychosocial working conditions of more than 1,000 professional firefighters in both countries.

While most respondents sleep six to nine hours before a shift, barely one in ten consistently felt well-rested. More than half of the firefighters also suffered from back pain.

The two countries showed some differences: Latvian rescue workers were more likely to experience anger and panic attacks, while their Estonian colleagues reported more difficulty concentrating and digestive problems. In both countries, a large share of firefighters (more than 55 percent in Latvia, 40 percent in Estonia) need a second job to make ends meet, leaving little time for exercise and recovery.

According to the researchers, the solution lies in how organizations structure work: physical training and dedicated rest periods need to be built into work shifts, rather than left to individual firefighters to manage on their own.

Read the ERR News coverage HERE.

Read the research article Firefighter well-being in the Baltics: a comparative study of physical activity, psychosocial risks, and management strategies in Estonian and Latvian fire services in the journal Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.

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