Brian Sharkey, Ph.D., Project Leader
Based on years of study of the energy expenditure and nutritional needs of wildland firefighters, the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) has developed a nutrition education program:
Eating for Health and Performance: The Wildland Firefighter.
Slides from the PowerPoint presentation Eating for
Health and
Performance: The Wildland Firefighter.
Recent research has identified nutritional strategies that will improve the health, safety, and performance of wildland firefighters. The right food sources, eaten at the proper times, provide energy and nutrients that help sustain work output and maintain the immune system. Supplemental high-energy foods delay fatigue and further enhance immune function while maintaining the ability to think and make decisions during hard work.
The program was developed by Carla Cox, Ph.D., a registered dietician associated with the University of Montana Human Performance Laboratory, and Brian Sharkey, Ph.D., a project leader at MTDC. Cox's research interests include nutrition for endurance athletes and wildland firefighters. Sharkey has studied wildland firefighters for over 40 years. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Montana and past president of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Firefighters are endurance athletes who require twice as many calories as normal—or more—when they are working on the fireline. To maintain their health and ensure peak performance, firefighters need to eat like endurance athletes. The nutrition education program was designed for wildland firefighters, incident management and support personnel, and those interested in good nutrition for health and performance. The program identifies energy and nutrient needs, the timing of food intake, information on vitamin and mineral supplements, hydration, and weight management. It emphasizes the value of intermittent feeding (shift food) to maintain blood glucose, work output, immune function, mood, and decision making throughout the workshift.
The Nutrition Education ProgramThis program includes a PowerPoint presentation, an instructor's guide, and an informational brochure.
The PowerPoint program has three parts:
- Energy for work: calories
- Nutrients and hydration
- Related issues, including immune function, ergogenic aids, special needs of incident management teams, and weight management.
Firefighters can take the brochure home for more details on carbohydrate and protein requirements and to allow them to calculate their individual needs. The brochure also includes the addresses of Web sites that provide additional information. The instructor's guide includes a view of each slide and important points that clarify or amplify the slide's content.
Cover of the instructor's guide for the nutrition
education
program
for wildland firefighters.
Firefighters can take this brochure home after the training
or download it from MTDC's Web site.
A CD with the PowerPoint program, the brochure, and the instructor's guide can be ordered from MTDC or the different parts can be downloaded from MTDC's Web site: http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/ Username: t-d Password: t-d.
About the AuthorsBrian Sharkey, an exercise physiologist at MTDC, has researched and developed fitness tests and programs and has studied heat stress, hydration, nutrition, protective clothing, tools, fatigue, work/rest cycles, and employee health (wellness). His work has been honored with USDA Superior Service and Distinguished Service Awards and a Forest Service Technology Transfer Award. He is a researcher, author of several books, and past president of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Additional single copies of this document may be ordered from:USDA Forest Service
Missoula Technology and Development Center
5785 Hwy. 10 West
Missoula, MT 59808-9361
Phone: 406-329-3978
Fax: 406-329-3719
E-mail: wo_mtdc_pubs@fs.fed.us
Electronic copies of MTDC's documents are available on
the Internet at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/
For additional information about nutrition for wildland
firefighters, contact Brian Sharkey at MTDC:
Phone: 406-329-3989
Fax: 406-329-3719
E-mail: bsharkey@fs.fed.us
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
employees can search a more complete collection of
MTDC's documents, videos, and CDs on their internal
computer networks at:
http://fsweb.mtdc.wo.fs.fed.us/search/
