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Law enforcement personnel are willing to change, but report influencing beliefs and barriers to optimised dietary intake.

ABSTRACT: BACMROUND:Law enforcement personnel have been recognized as having a high risk for several lifestyle-related health conditions which, in combination with the nature of their work (sedentary roles interspersed with intermittent high-intensity activity, shift work, and a high stress-load), can have a negative impact on their health. The aim of this study was to investigate the dietary habits and factors or barriers influencing these habits within a cohort of law enforcement personnel in the United States of America. METHOD:Cross-sectional data were obtained via validated paper-based surveys being the Perceived Barriers to Healthy Eating, Food Choice Questionnaire and Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants, Short Version. RESULTS:A total of 159 participants (median age?=?27 [range 19-60] years; 74% males) participated. Barriers to healthy eating included being busy and irregular working hours. Overall, 91% (n =?143) placed high importance on consuming nutritious food and 80% (n =?126) on food high in vitamins and minerals. A further 80% (n =?127) emphasized high protein content and 41% (n =?62) followed a high protein diet. Barriers to healthy eating included busy lifestyle (60%, n =?94), and irregular working hours (41%, n =?64). Overall, 80% (n =?127) were very willing to make changes in eating habits to be healthier. CONCLUSION:Law enforcement officers know what they should eat and report convenience and health the most important factors guiding their food choices. Knowing this, officers find challenges putting good dietary practices into practice due to factors like a busy lifestyle and irregular work hours. Reportedly "very willing" to make changes in their eating habits to be healthier, future interventions should focus on how to effect changes to their eating habits as opposed to focussing on what to eat.

SUBMITTER: MacKenzie-Shalders K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7607818 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Law enforcement personnel are willing to change, but report influencing beliefs and barriers to optimised dietary intake.

MacKenzie-Shalders Kristen K Matthews Charlene C Dulla Joe J Orr Robin R

BMC public health 20201102 1

<h4>Bacmround</h4>Law enforcement personnel have been recognized as having a high risk for several lifestyle-related health conditions which, in combination with the nature of their work (sedentary roles interspersed with intermittent high-intensity activity, shift work, and a high stress-load), can have a negative impact on their health. The aim of this study was to investigate the dietary habits and factors or barriers influencing these habits within a cohort of law enforcement personnel in th ...[more]

PMID: 33138785

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Project description:ImportanceThere is a scientific and operational need to define objective measures of exposure to low-level overpressure (LLOP) and concussion-like symptoms among persons with specialized occupations.ObjectiveTo evaluate serum levels of neurotrauma biomarkers and their association with concussion-like symptoms reported by LLOP-exposed military and law enforcement personnel who are outwardly healthy and cleared to perform duties.Design, setting, and participantsThis retrospective cohort study, conducted from January 23, 2017, to October 21, 2019, used serum samples and survey data collected from healthy, male, active-duty military and law enforcement personnel assigned to operational training at 4 US Department of Defense and civilian law enforcement training sites. Personnel aged 18 years or older with prior LLOP exposure but no diagnosed traumatic brain injury or with acute blast exposure during sampling participated in the study. Serum samples from 30 control individuals were obtained from a commercial vendor.Main outcomes and measuresSerum levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein, ubiquitin carboxyl hydrolase (UCH)-L1, neurofilament light chain, tau, amyloid β (Aβ)-40, and Aβ-42 from a random sample (30 participants) of the LLOP-exposed cohort were compared with those of 30 age-matched controls. Associations between biomarker levels and self-reported symptoms or operational demographics in the remainder of the study cohort (76 participants) were assessed using generalized linear modeling or Spearman correlations with age as a covariate.ResultsAmong the 30 randomly sampled participants (mean [SD] age, 32 [7.75] years), serum levels of UCH-L1 (mean difference, 4.92; 95% CI, 0.71-9.14), tau (mean difference, 0.16; 95% CI, -0.06 to 0.39), Aβ-40 (mean difference, 138.44; 95% CI, 116.32-160.56), and Aβ-42 (mean difference, 4.97; 95% CI, 4.10-5.83) were elevated compared with those in controls. Among the remaining cohort of 76 participants (mean [SD] age, 34 [7.43] years), ear ringing was reported by 44 (58%) and memory or sleep problems were reported by 24 (32%) and 20 (26%), respectively. A total of 26 participants (34%) reported prior concussion. Amyloid β-42 levels were associated with ear ringing (F1,72 = 7.40; P = .008) and memory problems (F1,72 = 9.20; P = .003).Conclusions and relevanceThe findings suggest that long-term LLOP exposure acquired during occupational training may be associated with serum levels of neurotrauma biomarkers. Assessment of biomarkers and concussion-like symptoms among personnel considered healthy at the time of sampling may be useful for military occupational medicine risk management.

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Law enforcement personnel are willing to change, but report influencing beliefs and barriers to optimised dietary intake.

Publications

Law enforcement personnel are willing to change, but report influencing beliefs and barriers to optimised dietary intake.

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