The Relationship Between Dietary Intake and Dietary-Focused Lifestyle Interventions on Risk Factors Associated with Cardiovascular Disease in Firefighters

Purpose of Review Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death to on-duty firefighters and is a substantial health concern. Preventative measures, including dietary interventions, may improve CVD in firefighters. The purpose of this review is to examine the literature on the relationship between dietary intake, dietary lifestyle interventions, and risk of CVD in firefighters. Recent Findings Existing evidence, albeit limited, suggests that firefighters do not meet dietary guidelines. Lifestyle modifications featuring dietary interventions are effective in improving risk factors associated with CVD in firefighters. Unfortunately, no consistent nutrition-related trend was identified across the retrieved studies and only a limited number of randomized controlled trials have examined the efficacy of lifestyle intervention studies on CVD in firefighters. Summary Although this review suggests dietary lifestyle interventions may facilitate decreases in risk factors associated with CVD in firefighters, current evidence is limited, and additional research is needed.