SHIFT – A Structured Health Intervention For Truckers
Principal Investigator: Dr Stacy Clemes
Long distance lorry drivers have higher levels of overweight and obesity than those working in other occupations. This increases their risk of diseases linked to obesity, including heart disease, diabetes, and sleep disturbances.
Due to the nature of their jobs, lorry drivers are faced with many barriers when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle. For example: the very nature of their job means they spend long periods of time sitting, their opportunities to be physically active while at work are limited, the food available at rest stops tends to be unhealthy, and working shifts tends to mean they get insufficient amounts of sleep. Lorry drivers in the UK are an ageing workforce, with an average age of 53 years. As a consequence of these working conditions and unhealthy lifestyle choices, lorry drivers have a lower life expectancy than the average working person.
The SHIFT study is a health intervention programme designed to increase physical activity, improve diet and reduce sitting (during breaks and non-work time) in long distance lorry drivers. The programme involves a 6-hour interactive education session, use of a wrist-worn activity monitor to count daily steps and set goals to increase steps, equipment to carry out stretching exercises whilst in the cab, and individual and group based step count competitions.
The study will take place within a large international logistics company. 336 lorry drivers across 24 depots will be recruited. The depots will be divided at random: drivers in 12 of the depots will follow the health intervention programme for 6 months, while drivers in the remaining 12 depots will continue with their normal routines.
For more information about the SHIFT study, please contact Dr Veronica Varela-Mato on V.Varela-Mato@lboro.ac.uk or call 01509 226634.