For a surefire conversation starter, ask a truck driver about his health. The most likely response will be a flood of pent-up anger and hostility brought on by not enough sleep, poor eating habits, lack of healthful physical activity, and the toll these issues are having on the driver’s health — plus the fact that, at least in the driver’s opinion, nobody seems to care. Add to that the impression that the trucking industry thinks of U.S. Department of Transportation’s mandates on diabetes, hypertension, health education for commercial vehicle drivers as “curses” to be endured, rather than helpful for drivers.

And yet, unknown to many, these same health risks have been declared a national epidemic and the red warning flag is fiercely being waved as health-insurance — and liability — costs skyrocket. In the trucking industry, many health-care specialists believe the life expectancy of a career longhaul truck driver to be much shorter than the national average of 77 years cited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2003. There is a very strong body of anecdotal evidence suggesting it could be as low as 55 to 57 years for owner-operators. In fact, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has been working with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health on a study of driver life expectancy due to be published by NIOSH in 2007.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 70% of the costs of health care can be prevented with diet, physical activity and lifestyle choices, like not smoking. The CDC estimates that these risks translate into additional annual costs of approximately $960 for each employee who smokes, $401 for excess weight, $370 for high cholesterol, $343 for high blood pressure and $130 for lack of exercise. Consider diabetes: According to the American Diabetes Association, that disease is the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States. Diabetes contributes to a greater risk for heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, extremity amputations and other chronic medical conditions.

Attributable indirect expenditures resulting from lost work days due to diabetes were $39.8 billion. That translates into per capita medical expenditures totaling $13,243 for people with diabetes and $2,560 for people without diabetes.

Statistics show diabetics have medical expenditures approximately 2.4 times higher than non-diabetics. However, the Diabetes Prevention Program of the National Institutes of Health studied 3,244 people considered high risk for diabetes and produced guidelines for minimizing the risks and incidence of both diabetes and hypertension. That study revealed that moderate diet and exercise resulting in a 5% to 7% weight loss can delay — and possibly prevent — Type 2 diabetes, which typically affects adults.

In fact, there is mounting evidence that a well-designed and implemented health promotion and disease prevention program sponsored by an employer can provide multifaceted payback on the investment by addressing risk factors such as chewing or smoking tobacco, eating fattening and nutritionally empty meals on the road, excessive alcohol use, stress and lack of exercise.The trick to producing a successful worksite health-promotion program is balancing sensitivity to employee needs with the employer’s need for return on investment. That’s a tall order, but fortunately, there are many free, or relatively inexpensive, research-based resources available.

An Essential Health Promotion Sourcebook for Employer, Large and Small. This 72-page publication, which is available free online, was produced by the Partnership for Prevention, a membership organization made up of government agencies and health-related associations and organizations. It can be downloaded free at: www.prevent.org...Healthy_Workforce_2010.pdf.
Another good resource is The Wellness Council of America. Visit www.welcoa.org or phone them at (402) 827-3590. WELCO is a national nonprofit organization involved in workplace health-promotion initiatives. NIH offers a Web site that provides science-based strategies for addressing diabetes in the workplace: http://ndep.nih.gov.

Employers also may be able to tap into the health-care dollars they’ve already have spent on professionally run “wellness programs.” In some cases, dollars prepaid by employers are “paid back” to employees who participate and meet healthy lifestyle promotion programs offered by the program’s vendor. On the local level, hospitals, medical centers and city or county government public health organizations may be able to assist with low-cost — even no-cost — health-promotion programs. Programs may be as simple as offering drivers and other workers flu shots or as challenging as switching to a smoke-free workplace. Seasoned drivers have told me that while compensation and consistent miles to drive are their top two employment concerns, the next thing they want is for the company to address the health-related issues it can control, for example, adequate opportunities for sleep and time at home with the family. In a time of driver shortages, helping drivers to be healthy, happy and safe behind the wheel can be a sensible recruitment and retention tool while improving a company’s bottom line.

Kathryn Clements is a writer and a registered and licensed dietitian and certified wellness manager based in Cannon Falls, MN.

For more information:
Email: Kathryn Clements, Clements Health Consulting or Phone - 507-263-3020