Combating Obesity in the Trucking Industry: Part 2

In part one, we gave the grim statistics, as they stand right now. In part two, we will show you how to NOT be part of those stats. With your help, we can even change those numbers for the better.

Remember Tony? He prioritizes his health. He chose a gym membership that allowed him to exercise at any location along his route. You can do the same! Lack of time is not an excuse; we make time for what is important to us. His family and health top that list, and he knows that if he wants to be around to see kids and grand kids grow up, he needs to maintain that health. It is important to overcome those obstacles and thoughts that are fighting you every single time you think about exercise.  

But what about food? It is more challenging to make healthy eating choices when on the road, but not impossible. In many ways, this part is more important than exercise. You can lose weight and improve your health if all you did was eat healthy and never exercised, but the same isn't necessarily true if the roles were reversed. That said, there are immense benefits to doing both, which is why we highly recommend taking baby steps towards increasing exercise time and healthful eating.

Here are a few tips from seasoned truck drivers that will help you on your road to better health:

Combating Obesity in the Trucking Industry: Part 1

The problem of obesity among truckers is very real, and needs to be addressed. In this 3-part series, we hope to bring light to the situation and also educate truckers who struggle with obesity to find ways to combat the disease.

Today, we are going to present you with some sobering numbers, in order to illustrate the stark contrast between worker health in the trucking industry and the population in general. The statistics below emphasize how important it is for the industry as a whole to promote healthier living, from the inside out. Rather than letting this discourage you, use it to help encourage you to live a healthier life!

Remember: Just because you are a truck driver, it doesn’t mean that you will be obese.
Ultimately, that is a choice you make. If we join together, we can work to change these statistics for the better. In this series, we are going to show you how to make that choice easier by presenting you with the facts, and then showing you simple ways to avoid becoming a statistic.

Trucking is the #1 occupation with the highest rate of obesity, at nearly 69%. 17% were classified as morbidly obese.

The average life expectancy of owner-operator truckers: 55.7 years old.

The average life expectancy of union drivers is 63 years old.

The average life expectancy of the American general populations is 78.7 years old.

Obesity-related health statistics:

87% of truckers have hypertension, vs. 58.3% of the general population in America.

54% of truckers smoke, vs. 21% of the general population.

8% (8%!!!) of truckers exercise, vs 49% of the general population.

80% of truckers report unhealthy eating habits.

Most common obesity-related health issues among truckers:

-heart disease

- high blood pressure

-cancer

-gallbladder disease

-sleep apnea

 http://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/focused/american-crisis-health-of-our-nation-s-truck-drivers/

http://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/economic-status-health-news-224/truck-drivers-top-list-of-overweight-workers-683816.html

http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2015/03/03/truck-driver-health/