Shape change and obesity prevalence among male UK offshore workers after 30 years: New insight from a 3D scanning study.

OBJECTIVES: In 1984, male UK offshore workers had greater overweight and obesity prevalence and fat content than the general population. Since then, body weight has increased by 19%, but, without accompanying anthropometric measures, their size increase, current obesity, and fatness prevalence remain unknown. This study therefore aimed to acquire contemporary anthropometric data, profile changes since the original survey, and assess current obesity prevalence in the male offshore workforce. METHODS: A total of 588 men, recruited via quota sampling to match the workforce weight profile, underwent stature, weight, and 3D photonic scanning measurements from which anatomical girths were extracted, enabling computation of body mass index (BMI), total fat, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT). RESULTS: On average, UK male offshore workers are now 8.1 y older, 3.1 cm taller, 13.9 kg heavier, and have greater girths than in 1984, which are >97% attributable to increased weight, and <3% to age difference. Mean BMI increased significantly from 24.9 to 28.1 kg/m2 and of the contemporary sample, 18% have healthy weight, 52% are overweight, and 30% obese, representing an increase in overweight and obesity prevalence by 6% and 24%, respectively. Waist cutoffs identify 39% of the contemporary sample as healthy, 27% at increased health risk, and 34% at high risk. CONCLUSIONS: UK offshore workers today have higher BMI than Scottish men, although some muscular individuals may be misclassified by BMI. Girth data, particularly at the waist, where dimensional increase was greatest, together with predictions of total and visceral fatness, suggest less favorable health status in others.

Survival suit volume reduction associated with immersion: implications for buoyancy estimation in offshore workers of different size.

RATIONALE: It is currently unknown how body size affects buoyancy in submerged helicopter escape. METHOD: Eight healthy males aged 39.6 ± 12.6 year (mean ± SD) with BMI 22.0-40.0 kg m-2 wearing a standard survival ('dry') suit undertook a normal venting manoeuvre and underwent 3D scanning to assess body volume (wearing the suit) before and after immersion in a swimming pool. RESULTS: Immersion-induced volume loss averaged 14.4 ± 5.4 l, decreased with increasing dry density (mass volume-1) and theoretical buoyant force in 588 UK offshore workers was found to be 264 ± 46 and 232 ± 60 N using linear and power functions, respectively. Both approaches revealed heavier workers to have greater buoyant force. DISCUSSION: While a larger sample may yield a more accurate buoyancy prediction, this study shows heavier workers are likely to have greater buoyancy. Without free-swimming capability to overcome such buoyancy, some individuals may possibly exceed the safe limit to enable escape from a submerged helicopter. Practitioner Summary: Air expulsion reduced total body volume of survival-suited volunteers following immersion by an amount inversely proportional to body size. When applied to 588 offshore workers, the predicted air loss suggested buoyant force to be greatest in the heaviest individuals, which may impede their ability to exit a submerged helicopter.

Defying geometric similarity: Shape centralization in male UK offshore workers.

OBJECTIVES: Applying geometric similarity predictions of body dimensions to specific occupational groups has the potential to reveal useful ergonomic and health implications. This study assessed a representative sample of the male UK offshore workforce, and examined how body dimensions from sites typifying musculoskeletal development or fat accumulation, differed from predicted values. METHODS: A cross sectional sample was obtained across seven weight categories using quota sampling, to match the wider workforce. In total, 588 UK offshore workers, 84 from each of seven weight categories, were measured for stature, mass and underwent 3D body scans which yielded 22 dimensional measurements. Each measurement was modeled using a body-mass power law (adjusting for age), to derive its exponent, which was compared against that predicted from geometric similarity. RESULTS: Mass scaled to stature 1.73 (CI: 1.44-2.02). Arm and leg volume increased by mass0.8 , and torso volume increased by mass1.1 in contrast to mass 1.0 predicted by geometric similarity. Neck girth increased by mass 0.33 as expected, while torso girth and depth dimensions increased by mass0.53-0.72 , all substantially greater than assumed by geometric similarity. CONCLUSIONS: After controlling for age, offshore workers experience spectacular "super-centralization" of body shape, with greatest gains in abdominal depth and girth dimensions in areas of fat accumulation, and relative dimensional loss in limbs. These findings are consistent with the antecedents of sarcopenic obesity, and should be flagged as a health concern for this workforce, and for future targeted research and lifestyle interventions.

The ability of UK offshore workers of different body size and shape to egress through a restricted window space.

404 male offshore workers aged 41.4 ± 10.7 y underwent 3D body scanning and an egress task simulating the smallest helicopter window emergency exit size. The 198 who failed were older (P < 0.01), taller (P < 0.05) and heavier (P < 0.0001) than the 206 who passed. Using all extracted dimensions from the scans, binary logistic regression identified a model (refined using backward elimination) which predicted egress outcome with 75.2% accuracy. Using only weight, bideltoid breadth and maximum chest depth, the model achieved ∼70% accuracy. When anatomical dimensions categorise individuals for small window egress, 25% or more will be misclassified, with false positives (those predicted to fail, but pass) slightly outnumbering false negatives (those predicted to pass, but fail), highlighting the limitations of a predictive approach which treats the body as a rigid object. Differences in flexibility and technique may explain these observations, which may be important considerations for future research.

Body size and ability to pass through a restricted space: Observations from 3D scanning of 210 male UK offshore workers.

Offshore workers are subjected to a unique physical and cultural environment which has the ability to affect their size and shape. Because they are heavier than the UK adult population we hypothesized they would have larger torso dimensions which would adversely affect their ability to pass one another in a restricted space. A sample of 210 male offshore workers was selected across the full weight range, and measured using 3D body scanning for shape. Bideltoid breadth and maximum chest depth were extracted from the scans and compared with reference population data. In addition a size algorithm previously calculated on 44 individuals was applied to adjust for wearing a survival suit and re-breather device. Mean bideltoid breadth and chest depth was 51.4 cm and 27.9 cm in the offshore workers, compared with 49.7 cm and 25.4 cm respectively in the UK population as a whole. Considering the probability of two randomly selected people passing within a restricted space of 100 cm and 80 cm, offshore workers are 28% and 34% less likely to pass face to face and face to side respectively, as compared with UK adults, an effect which is exacerbated when wearing personal protective equipment.