For all too many, the bottom line is the only figure that matters. Having talked the OTR overweight epidemic, I have heard it, lived it. You know, the quick response by someone shooting down a wellness program proposal with a Pontius Pilate-like verbal hand washing that goes, "Fat drivers, thin drivers...the load still gets there in the same amount of time." That's true...to a point. But, new research points to a disturbing fact... drivers who eat unhealthy diets...and drivers who are overweight or obese can certainly be in that group...have significantly slower reaction times than drivers who have healthy eating patterns.

To repeat...research out of Denmark supports the link between healthy eating and safety. That is something groundbreaking...most research on OTRs focuses on the health consequences of overweight. This news puts life into the statistic highlighting that 86% of American OTRs are overweight and 57% are obese (Whitfield et al, "Truck Drivers..., Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 12/07). Yet the connection between diet and alertness seems pretty clear when you come right down to it.

Our brains are affected by how we eat. Carbohydrates are the fuel that powers our brains, and complex carbs are the high test stuff that keeps our inner eye focused on maneuvering 80,000 pounds of whatever down a super slab. Problem is, there are way too many OTRs who are running the HOS to the max and getting by on one meal a day and a load of simple carbs like a liter or two of Mountain Dew and candy bars. Sure you'll light up for 45 minutes or so...but the crash is coming...and it could be more than metaphorical.

Back to Denmark... lifestyle consultant Mette-Marie Linding became interested in the link between performance and diet after she was contacted by a trade union dealing with an overweight driver who was having problems breathing while shifting gears. Later, Linding launched a study in conjunction with the Danish Transport Union. The goal: to document how a driver's diet influenced his reaction time.

Linding's methodology was rigorous. She divided her test subjects of "normal" Danish truckers into two groups. The first cohort was placed on a healthy diet that emphasized a regular eating schedule. The others continued eating as they usually did. Then over a period of 12 days, all study members' reaction times were tested in a simulator. As early as Day 2, the regular diet/meal pattern group started to lag behind those in the experimental group. By the end of the study, drivers who ate regular healthy meals had reaction times that were 16% faster than the control group.

It all came down to brain function. The wild extremes in blood sugar experienced by the group making poor food choices and eating "on the fly" resulted in mood swings, headaches, increased stress and, (surprise-surprise) reduced concentration. For those who tried the "radical" diet of regular and balanced meals, added benefits beyond improved reaction time included a significant reduction in the incidence of high blood pressure and high cholesterol...all in just 12 days.

Those sorts of results were bound to get the attention of the trucking industry. At Volvo Trucks in the Netherlands, the company has included health as a compulsory course in all driver training programs.

"Since there is a strong link between food and traffic safety, we felt that it was important to put health firmly on the agenda. Overweight is a serious problem among commercial vehicle drivers owing to the highly static nature of their work. At the same time, many drivers want to be healthier but simply don't know how to set about making the necessary change," says Charles Engelaar of the Volvo Trucks marketing department in the Netherlands.

"Having healthy drivers is also healthy for society in general. What is more, there's money to be made. By reducing the risk of accidents, the trucks can spend more time on the road and the company avoids losing time, money and reputation when their vehicles are in the workshop for repairs," emphasizes Charles Engelaar.