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Subscribe to RSSA new study finds that long commutes could have a negative impact on your health. WCAU's Dawn Timmeney reports.
By Bill Briggs
Sure, speed kills. But new science suggests your sluggish slog from home to work (and back again) is slowly sucking the life out of you -- exit by excruciating exit.
Commuters who log 16 or more miles each way on their daily haul to the job tend to pack plumper paunches and post higher blood pressure when compared to those with shorter excursions, according to the first research exploring the intersection of travel distances and health impacts.
Clogged roads seem to clog arteries, in part, by eating into potential gym minutes. Among folks who drive 16-plus miles to earn a paycheck, the prevalence of obesity is almost 9 percent higher while the rate of fitness is nearly 9 percent lower versus those who journey six to 10 miles, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (Those numbers are not adjusted for age or gender).
“Part of it is that people with longer commutes aren’t exercising as much. But there could be other factors like they’re eating (fast food) while driving or they’re getting less sleep because they don’t have as much discretionary time,” said Christine M. Hoehner, the study’s lead investigator and an assistant professor in the department of surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
By mapping the daily drives and dissecting the health scores of 4,297 residents from two Texas metro areas, Dallas and Austin, Hoehner and her colleagues distilled the mile-by-mile health hazards linked to sitting behind the wheel.
Take, for example, Body Mass Index -- a calculation of stored fat based on height and weight. (A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal). For every 10-mile increase in your driving distance, your BMI rises by .17 units, Hoehner said. So if you’re already on the cusp of an unhealthy BMI -- say at 24.5 -- adding 15 miles to your foray -- each way -- will nudge you into the danger zone.
The daily drive has taken a toll on Sharon Binford, part of the marketing and development team at an online office supply retailer. She has a roughly 30-mile commute to and from her home in White Plains, N.Y., and her office in Manhattan, spanning 1 hour and 20 minutes each way.
“I am more tired, so I think my mood and activity level have been affected” by the daily trek, said Binford, 25. Before she got her current job, she didn’t drive to work.
“Before, I would have avocados and tomato, or strawberry and yogurt, or eggs-and-bacon breakfasts. Now, I eat cereal in the mornings -- Special K Red Berries, but it’s still all carbs instead of almost none,” Binford said. “I used to spend about an hour running three times a week. Now, I try to occasionally squeeze in a half-hour run during my hour lunch break.”
Americans are, indeed, spending slightly more time collectively navigating to and from their jobs. In 2010, 8 percent of U.S. workers had one-way commutes of one hour or more -- up from 7.8 percent in 2009, said Brian McKenzie, a commuting analyst at the U.S. Census Bureau.
But the true traffic terrors are, of course, found on the local levels, especially in cities where far-flung suburbs offer more affordable housing. According to INRIX, a traffic information provider that ranks the worst municipal commutes, the most congested cities in 2010 were, in order, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. then Dallas/Fort Worth -- where Hoehner conducted much of her study.
And, hardly shocking to any fuming driver who routinely winces at an agonizing line of brake lights, Hoehner found that longer commutes are more likely to fuel stress levels.
“It’s about the chronic stress: daily exposure to traffic, the hassles of not being able to predict when you’ll arrive, and having no control over your time because of that traffic,” Hoehner said.
About one-third of the commuters Hoehner analyzed notched 16 or more miles getting to work. The prevalence of elevated blood pressure in that group was about 52 percent. Meanwhile, slightly more than half the drivers studied needed 10 miles or less to reach their jobsite or office. The rate of high blood pressure in that portion: about 45 percent.
So, honk if you hate the guy driving one car ahead -- and the other 500 beyond. They’re killing you.
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I commute 114 miles every day and it takes about 1 hour each way (Maryland I-270). Have started leaving the house at 5:15 a.m. so I beat the worst of the traffic. Work my 8, then head home to exercise, pack lunches for next day, fix dinner, do laundry, help my 14-year old with his school work, etc. I don't get much sleep anymore, but it's better than the unemployment line.
Every time there is a post about obesity increasing in America, there are a lot of bloggers whose responses indicate they are either heartless and/or uninformed. The typical attitude seems to be "deny the obese health benefits" or "stop eating and exercise!". Of course, there are always comparisons between "fat Americans" and the "thin" people of Europe.
As this article demonstrates, instead of blaming overweight people who work 12+ hours a day, and have 3 hour daily commutes for their lack of "willpower" to deny themselves food or exercise, we need to have employers in this country return to the principle that employees are not robots or slaves, you can't work them to death, mistreat and abuse them, and then replace them. We already outlawed slavery once, but are moving back in that direction again, except that instead of slave owners, we now have multinational corporations perpetrating abuses. Other countries have laws that protect workers from such abuse, but in the US, there is no protection - we have "employment at will" work laws. The WARN Act does not work, because employers lay off employees in waves instead of in one mass layoff, to avoid even its inadequate notice provisions.
In Europe, not only are there working laws that are more humane, but because of shorter distances, a lot of Europeans do not have to commute by car - they can either walk to work or take their excellent public transportation. In the US, we are stuck with long car commutes to work, and having to take a car for everything, including errands. Most people would live to park their cars and use public transport, but in the US, most public transport is a nightmare. Of course in the US a person could walk to his nearest grocery store, but that would likely mean at least a 20 minute walk each way. When that person is already working 12+ hours a day, and commuting an additional 3, it is not hard to understand why people get no exercise. And add to that the stress of knowing that no matter how well you do your job, you can be replaced at any time, for no reason, and once you are replaced, it is very difficult to find another job, especially if you are over 50. Plus the stress of managing your work schedule to keep appointments when you have such a long commute, never mind trying to squeeze time in your day for your family.
Given the above, I am surprised there are not more Americans dropping dead from heart attacks and strokes. So - instead of blaming the overweight, how about we all concentrate into making this country a good place to work again, and stopping workplace abuse of employees?
I am living proof a commute can and does effect the health of some people - and it is NOT about stress, since most of the time I was commuting 3 to 4 (sometimes even 6) hours a day because of heavy traffic and wasn't driving. My theory - carbon monoxide. On the Baltimore I95 corridor, much of the congested part of our commute the road was lined with sound barriers - so we would sit in the middle of about 30+ cars putting out fumes that were held in by the sound barriers. Every day I would doze, trying to get a quick nap (since my husband was driving) and would wake about 30 minutes later with an asthma attack. I think the key is whether you drive in congested areas. If you are fortunate enough to have a commute that is free of backups, it may not be so bad. If you don't end up with my problem (two lung diseases) you may end up with lung cancer or COPD later on. A German study done in 2009 and another done in Sweden (train commutes-also a fume-filled commute) seemed to show you are 3 times more likely to have a heart attack than anyone else if you commute an hour or more a day
I wish they had a smoking car on the train like a civilized society. It would be less stressful for me.
Wow, all of you complainers about your commute....have you ever thought about moving either closer to your job or getting a job in a not so congested city?? DUH!
I live in a rural area in VA where there are no jobs around, never have been. The closest ones are over 20 miles away in any direction. We HAVE to deal with the drive, whether we like it or not. Sure, I'd love something that I could just jump out of bed, get ready, and drive 5 minutes, but that's just not possible. I do enjoy the long drive when I have a good CD cranked up! It's relaxing sometimes. :)
If I could smoke on the train it would be less stressful.
If your a republican... you want to make sure that no one can get any decent mass transit... or that we engineer communities for better living.
Why do republicans hate American workers so much?
Just the stress of knowing your bosses are annoyed about you arriving late into work after driving 45 miles is killing me. I cannot leave much earlier than I do because I have a child and the traffic is unpredicatable. At night the weather or an accideent can prevent me from picking my child up at a reasonable time from daycare. It's stress on both ends. I have a job where I could work from home more but the couple of people who don't have kids or a husband complain about those of us who have immediate responsibilities when we walk out the door and so I get only a day a week. I am productive at home, sometimes even more so, I tend to work through lunch and have little distraction. I had a flat stomach and weighed alot less at one time. I do not snack in the car at all and watch what I eat. But there is no exercise. There is just no time and I am tired in the morning and at night....cannot really figure out a solution to this issue.