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:

Tips for Truckers: How to Stay Fit While On the Road

The list of pros of being a trucker is long: you get paid to take in the beauty of our vast nation, there's no boring office environment, etc. One downside to being a professional truck driver, however, is the potential risk to your health, if you aren't making a conscious effort to take care of yourself. According to a 2014 survey done by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 69% of long-haul truckers are obese. In addition, a Gallup-Healthways analysis found that transport workers have the highest risk for chronic health problems of any other occupational group. We at SWTDT want our graduates to not only move on to long and happy careers, but also to have healthy lives. We feel that the latter is key in achieving the former. Below we have outlined some of the best nutrition and fitness tips that are relevant to the trucker lifestyle, but these can also be applied to anyone who travels for work. 

While this health advice was provided to us by an experienced certified personal trainer and weight management specialist, it is not intended to serve as medical advice. As always, consult with your doctor before starting any new diet or fitness routine.