Case study of a healthy eating intervention for Swedish lorry drivers

Abstract

Professional drivers, i.e. lorry, truck, bus and taxi drivers, have been identified as a particular health risk group. An intervention to study the efficacy of a series of educational programmes, involving improved nutritional balance in meals served, food preparation routines and carrying out personal health profiles on staff, was implemented at a Swedish truck stop in order to target this specific hard-to-reach risk group. Professional drivers were targeted through an information campaign, healthier 'Today's Special' choices and by using staff as proxy health promoters. A campaign emblem on the menu notice board indicated healthier food choice menu items. Drivers choosing healthier alternatives were given lottery tokens. The intervention was evaluated through nutritional analyses, field observations, questionnaires and interviews. Positive staff-level outcomes included increased nutritional awareness, personal health empowerment and, most crucially, overwhelming staff support for a health-promoting role. Nutritional analysis of pre- and post-intervention 'Today's Specials' showed a better balance of fat, calories, carbohydrates and protein (per 100 g) content in the dishes tested. At management level there were economic benefits in terms of time savings and reduced use of cooking fat in food preparation. Drivers tended to choose healthier alternatives and there was increased awareness of the healthier alternatives on offer. The case study showed that using truck stop staff as proxy health promoters offers a viable intervention strategy.

Adolescent fast food and restaurant ordering behavior with and without calorie and fat content menu information

“…A study of Swedish truck drivers was successful in improving their selection of healthier menu items, but a lottery token was given to drivers whenever they chose the healthier items, which basically means that they were rewarded to choose the healthier items [10]. Study subjects can be paid to modify their behavior, but such a program cannot be easily applied to the population as a whole.…”

Effectiveness of health promotion programmes for truck drivers: A systematic review

“…Environmental support, such as increasing access to healthy foods and providing more space for physical activity, can be implemented at trucking terminals, warehouses, truck shops, highway rest areas and truck cabs (Apostolopoulos et al, 2011). For example, staff working in truck stops can be used as proxy health promoters to reach truck drivers (Gill and Wijk, 2004).…”

Men's health literacy: advancing evidence and priorities

“…seeking medical attention), and risk factors for chronic disease (e.g. nutrition, obesity) (Murray and Lopez 1996, Courtenay 2000, Roos et al 2001, Gill and Wijk 2004, DeSouza and Ciclitira 2005, Muenning et al 2006, Mahalik et al 2007.…”

“…The fourth perspective is rarely articulated but is suggested by findings on men and modifiable risk factors for disease, and the characteristics of successful strategies for engaging men that lead to altered attitudes and behaviour (Gill andWijk 2004, Conrad andWhite 2007). Rather than expending energy and resources trying to improve men's health literacy in an attempt to, 'empower men to make informed decisions about their health and to take responsibility for health-related decisions' (Smith et al 2008, p. 8), the same outcomes could be achieved (and more reliably) by accepting men's health literacy (levels of and attitudes towards) as they are and working around them.…”