Boston Doctor Helps First Responders Get Back Into Shape

The obesity epidemic continues to expand in America, and first responders have been hit as hard as the average citizen.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, almost three-quarters of emergency responders have prehypertension or hypertension, and that figure was expected to increase because of the obesity trend.

A 2012 study found that more than 70% of U.S. firefighters were overweight or obese, a number higher than the national average for adults—69%, according to the CDC.

Boston-based doctor Amanda Powell, director of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center’s Medical and Surgical Weight Loss Center, is doing what she can to reverse that trend.

Powell works with first responders on an individual basis to help them lose weight and form good habits to keep the weight off and stay in shape. She says there are a couple main causes for weight gain that she encounters when working with first responders.

 “One is that their hours are very long and difficult to control, so there’s a lot of unstructured eating. They work a shift, and then they’re called in for overtime,” says Powell.

On top of the lengthy and unpredictable hours, many of her patients work the night shift, which can exacerbate a patient’s weight issues because it can cause poor sleeping and eating habits These issues, coupled with the ease of eating fast food when providers are constantly in a vehicle, are the main obstacles Powell tries to tackle.

Among her strategies to combat these problems, meal planning is the most important.

“A lot of my patients will make simple foods and bring a cooler to work,” Powell said. “So instead of having to stop all the time, they can bring food with them and eat regularly.”

Powell says it’s essential for patients to understand the amount of calories in what they are eating so they can make healthier choices even when eating out.

“They’re still going to the same location, but they’re making better choices. So they may order and egg and cheese sandwich on an English muffin, which is 250 to 300 calories instead of a 600-calorie bagel with cream cheese,” Powell says.

Helping regulate sleep habits is important to losing weight too. This is difficult for first responders working shifts, but Powell says not sleeping well can cause people to eat to get energy when they feel lethargic.

Powell also stresses the importance of exercise, which can be difficult to fit into busy schedules. To counter this, Powell stresses that workouts don’t have to be long and can be done whenever there is time. Instead of doing an hour-long cardio workout, she said the best strategy is to get in 15- to 20-minute bursts whenever they have downtime.

To help arrange times for patients to exercise, each plan for each patient is individualized to fit the patient’s schedule.

To help keep the weight off once they lose it, Powell has developed a smartphone app for her patients to use.

Unlike the common apps such as MyFitnessPal, Powell’s app focuses on the concept of personal interactions. The patients fill their days with a red, yellow or green color to tell Powell how their eating has been that day. If their days have been more red than green, Powell can message them and try to help them right their path.

The app also sends reminders to patients to eat at certain points in the day. For example, a patient might get a text message to remind them to eat something at 4 so they don’t wait to eat and then overeat. Powell said this is a common problem among her patients.

John Brown, deputy superintendent in charge of the criminal investigations division at the Boston Police Department, lost 60 pounds working with Powell.

When he was overweight, he was a sergeant detective for the homicide division working nights, and had to stand for hours on end, made much more difficult by his weight, Brown says.

Now he packs his meals daily to help him stick with the plans that Powell provided: “The most important thing is preparation, just having my food with me so I don’t make bad choices."

For more information on the program or to book an appointment, call (855)934-4488.