Truck drivers face difficult working conditions including many health and social challenges. Their limited access to food, specifically balanced food choices, and their isolated and small work place are just two examples of the challenging work setting. This survey confirmed the results of other studies regarding an above average BMI in the truck driver population [7, 22] and a high prevalence of bad health conditions such as back pain or other chronic diseases; particularly in obese truck drivers [9, 23]. European truck drivers driving through Germany appear to be affected by their difficult working conditions in similar ways than drivers in other European countries, the U.S., or Australia [9, 17, 23,24,25].
Interestingly, overweight and obese truck drivers did not seem to differ significantly in their food choice patterns which was also found by Whitfield Jacobson and colleagues [14] among U.S. truck drivers. However, neither their study nor this study assessed the amount of food consumed.
To our knowledge, this is the first study that focused on food choice patterns of truck drivers during trips compared to at home food choices. Several novel findings should be highlighted. The food choices at work seem to differ unfavorably from the choices when at home, such as intake of sausages or energy drinks and soft drinks. While sausages are convenient to consume while traveling, processed meat found in sausages is usually high in fat and high intake of processed meat, such as sausages, has been linked to increased risk of coronary heart disease as well as different types of cancer [26,27,28]. The higher intake of soft drinks and energy drinks while on tour is not surprising given the tiresome and exhausting nature of driving for many hours with only short breaks. However, while there seems to be no differences in the BMI groups in the frequency of drinking soft drinks or energy drinks, the consumption of energy and soft drinks has been associated with negative health consequences such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications [29], or in the case of energy drinks, sleep disturbances [30, 31]. Fresh vegetables on the other hand were more often chosen at home. The lack of fresh vegetables while on tour has been mentioned in other studies as a barrier to healthy eating [16].
The study adds several new aspects to the already existing literature that need to be further investigated. It is the first study to separate eating occasions between work and home revealing differences in food choice patterns across those two occasions, which could help when developing interventions and campaigns to improve dietary habits with a focus on the foods taken on trips. With this knowledge, developing and implementing new strategies to promote healthy and balanced eating among this population can be undertaken. For instance, European supermarkets more than ever offer a wide variety of fresh ready-to-eat vegetable snacks that could easily be stored in the truck fridges for a couple of days. However, while this option could reduce one of the barriers to eating healthy foods on the road, purchasing or preparing food before work trips might be difficult for the drivers to organize, given their work schedule (e.g. leaving very early in the morning; leaving on Sunday when shops are closed in most of Europe).
In addition, having food related appliances on board appears to support healthier food options such as self-prepared meals, salads, or raw vegetables. Appliances, such as a gas cooker or microwave, provide the option to prepare healthy foods on tour that are difficult or even impossible to obtain at truck stops or restaurants.
Besides innovative behavioural interventions to improve health and body weight among this population, and healthier food items at truck stops, it is also important to look into possible advances in cabin environments by automobile companies, such as improved appliances that facilitate food self-preparation, storage, and cooking possibilities.
Study limitations
This study has some limitations, such as its inability to determine causal relationships between studied variables and the questionnaire design, which might have distorted results. For example, self-reported body weight or alcohol consumption are both subject to social desirability. Furthermore, the fact that food quantities were not assessed reduces the study’s informative value. One positive aspect is that commercial truck drivers are notoriously difficult to reach and our study procedures allowed us to successfully enroll a large sample of truck drivers that travel regularly for days at a time across Europe.