News

Truckers have long been perceived as the unhealthiest members of the modern work force: a pill-popping, chain-smoking lot who only unbuckle for a plate of steak and eggs at truck stops.

You'd think they'd be the last to grasp the latest fitness trend, or swap a Burger King menu for the Canada Food Guide.

But a growing number of health nuts have infiltrated the 18-wheeler set. And their bosses – concerned by the added costs and dangers of having unhealthy employees on the road – are encouraging more drivers to follow suit.

Take Jeff Beckta. At 5 feet 11 inches, the 44-year-old Winnipegger is 200 pounds of solid muscle.

On a good day, he can bench press 500 pounds, which comes in handy when manoeuvring lumber and steel on the flatbed truck he drives for up to three weeks at a stretch.

Five days a week, Mr. Beckta fuels up on protein shakes and works out by visiting various gyms along his triangular route from Manitoba down to North Dakota, to Iowa, Ohio and back around through Southern Ontario.

He judges a place not by its scenery, but by the workout facilities he locates by Googling on his laptop.

“Just last week I found one in Wisconsin,” he says. “A small American town, out-of-the-way gym. It wasn't too bad.”

Mr. Beckta's zeal for healthy living sets him apart from many of his comrades. But on highways crisscrossing North America, there are others like him.

Some hang punching bags from their cabs. Others trade fast food for portable mini-refrigerators stuffed with tuna and cottage cheese. On any given night, you might find them doing crunches in their bunks, or lunges in the parking lot.

One Canadian driver, who asked not to be identified, says he straps his bike to the back of his rig, and jogs around truck-stop parking lots. His brother has a national gym membership to the YMCA, which he uses in cities coast to coast.

“One guy golfs more on the road than he does at home,” says Duane Fehr, human resources manager at New Hope Transport in Oak Bluffs, Man., where Mr. Beckta works.

Mr. Fehr says he encourages Mr. Beckta's pursuits, as long as he stays on schedule. Healthy truckers are good for the bottom line, he says.

“Stay in shape, less injuries … so we both win when they keep fit.”

More and more trucking companies share that view. In an effort to decrease health- insurance costs and sick days, companies across North America are installing gym facilities in their offices and supplementing their employees' Weight Watchers bills.

APPS Transport Group in Brampton, Ont., has hired a full-time personal trainer for its drivers and office staff. For $5 a week, truckers can get a half-hour session before or after their 12-hour driving shifts.

“I think the attention has grown,” said Martin Moore-Ede, head of Circadian 24/7 Workforce Solutions, an international consulting firm working with industries that have an around-the-clock work force, including transport companies.

“The economics are very tough right now. A lot of companies are going out of business. And yet the costs associated with not managing these issues is quite significant. The companies that are properly enlightened ... realize that dealing with these issues actually makes them more profitable.”

The high-fat, sedentary trucker lifestyle has led to soaring obesity rates within the industry, contributing to high rates of heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea, Mr. Moore-Ede said.

Those conditions not only make drivers sick; they may also make roads less safe for the rest of us. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates the commercial transport industry in the United States, is considering tightening its rules on medical conditions including diabetes and high blood pressure. In Canada, truckers also have to undergo medical testing to be licensed.

Still, some say the logistics of the job make staying in shape nearly impossible.

Ethan Erkiletian, a 26-year-old trucker from Saskatoon, has gained 25 pounds since he started hauling farm chemicals and gravel about a year ago, even though he avoids greasy spoons and packs nutritious meals for all of his jobs.

The weight gain has Mr. Erkiletian worried. He doesn't want to look like the “butterballs” he sees at truck stops around the Prairies. But finding time – and space – to exercise is a real challenge.

“I've never seen a truck stop that has a workout facility,” he says. And exercising in a parking lot is “not necessarily safe.”

“A lot of guys would think they look darn silly.”

But Mr. Beckta makes it work. The protein shakes for breakfast and grocery shopping at Wal-Mart are simply a part of his routine. Miss a workout, and he's one grumpy guy – no matter where he happens to be.

“I don't see myself ever getting sick of it,” he says.