Forestry work in the Italians alps: metabolic demand assessed by heart rate measurements.

Objective: This research aims to: a) assess the energy expenditure during typical forestry activities; b) assess the actual workload of forestry work; c) define the eventual relationship between oxygen uptake ( ) and heart rate during the studied working phases. Methods : Eleven healthy skilled forestry workers were studied. Using a portable device, oxygen uptake ( ), carbon dioxide output ( ), pulmonary ventilation ( ) and heart rate (HR) were measured. The forestry work was divided into four phases: walking uphill, felling, limbing & chain-sawing and complementary activities. A work time report was kept and in each phase a weighted average (WA) of all parameters was obtained. Results : Walking uphill, felling, limbing & chain-sawing activities did not show significant statistical differences between each other and were classified as heavy activities (mean 2.17 l min -1