Prime Inc., North America’s most successful refrigerated, flatbed and tanker trucking company, is releasing preliminary results of its Driver Body Composition Study.
From April to November, 2014, Prime measured the body composition of 102 drivers who enrolled in its award-winning Driver Health and Fitness (DHF) Thirteen Week Program. Using a method called bio-electric impedance, Prime measured each driver’s weight, body fat %, water weight, muscle mass, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate (BMR), bone density, metabolic age and physique rating.
The average weight of all drivers was 267.7 lbs. For men (76 drivers), the average weight was 280.7 lbs. and for women (26 drivers) the average weight was 233.5 lbs. The overall average body fat was 38.7% – 36.4% for men and 45.4% for women. The visceral fat rating, which is a measure of the fat surrounding the internal organs in the belly area, was 18. For the men the average was 20 and for the women the average was 12. A visceral fat score of 12 or under is considered healthy.
“What the preliminary study shows us is that the drivers in Prime’s fleet tend to be healthier than most truck drivers,” said Siphiwe Baleka, Prime’s Driver Health and Fitness Coach. “Nationally, 86% of truck drivers are overweight and 69% are obese. We track the BMI of the entire Prime fleet and currently only 56.7% of Prime drivers are obese. We have set up programs to reduce the average BMI of the fleet to under 30 which is the cut off for obesity.”
Benefits of Prime’s DHF Program: It’s Not Just Weight Loss
While there is not enough complete aggregate data on the overall effect of the DHF 13 Week program on the fleet, the average weight loss of the hundreds of drivers that have completed the program is 19.6 lbs. Over 80 drivers have lost 7% of their body weight or more in just thirteen weeks without skipping meals, and as a result, they have reduced their risk for sixty medical disorders and twelve cancers. There are plenty of great case studies, too.
Angela and Jason Rocky drive teams together and started the program in June. After completing the program, Angela lost 34.6 lbs. and 11.1% of her body weight. Her body fat dropped from 50.1% to 46.7% while her visceral fat dropped from 17 points to 14 points, an improvement of 18%. Jason finished the program having lost 37.8 lbs. and 15.7% of his body weight. His body fat dropped from 33.1% to 27.5% and his visceral fat decreased from 15 points to 10 points, an improvement of 33%.
Andrew Lewis is a 62 year-old driver. When he enrolled in the DHF program, he weighed 252.8 lbs. A month after completing the DHF program, he weighs a svelte 221.2 lbs. In addition to losing 31.6 lbs. and 12.5% of his body weight, Andrew’s body fat dropped from 33.8% to 24.9% while his visceral fat rating dropped from 18 points to 13 points, a 28% improvement.
According to Baleka, “No other company that I know of is helping drivers like this, let alone tracking the health of its fleet in this way. Why take care of the truck and trailer if you are not going to take care of the driver, too? Prime drivers are not only losing weight, they are transforming their bodies. This, we believe makes a healthier driver and a safer driver.” Contact Siphiwe Baleka at Prime, Inc. by email at sbaleka@primeinc.com for more information.
