Martinez, A (2011). Attityder hos lastbilsförare gällande mat i samband med långa -respektive korta transportsträckor. Akademin för hälsa och arbetsliv, Högskolan i Gävle.   AbstractBackground: The profession as a lorry driver is in many aspects very risky. Factors such as time directive, poor diet and shift work characterize the profession and puts drivers' health at risk. Current research shows that the vast majority of lorry drivers are overweight, suffer from high stress related to work and have on average a very low consumption of fruits and vegetables. All these factors may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and impaired quality of life. Purpose: To investigate the attitudes of the lorry drivers regarding food and meals in connection with the long, short and combined distances.Materials: A convenience sample was used in connection with this study, as professional drivers are a difficult study target. A total of 50 lorry drivers with three different professional backgrounds were investigated, long distance, distribution (short) and combined driving. In total the loss amounted to ten drivers, which means a shortfall of 20 percent.Design and Methods: A cross-sectional study was used as a diagnostic method for the analysis of individual factors in relation to attitudes. The above quantitative design was chosen because it effectively facilitates the study of large groups. Data collection was conducted with a questionnaire consisting of 21 questions. All questions were graded from 1-7 using the Likert- scale, which is a useful grading tool for attitudes and is also the correct scale level in relationship to this study. Results: The results show that there are no significant differences in attitudes between drivers who drive long, short – or combined distances. In addition the independent variables, do not affect the results. However, the driver’s exhibit similar attitude settings for individual study factors and the results show that there is a neutral attitude toward the social aspect of meals, while “mood” as a factor during food consumption is very important.Discussion: In order to improve lorry drivers working conditions and attitudes to food in a work setting, it requires knowledge of the individual factors that influence the attitudes of the profession. Attitudes are an important part of individual decision making and behavior. By examining the attitudes of lorry drivers on individual factors we can effectively streamline public health efforts to improve this vulnerable profession. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying and individual factors that determine the lorry driver’s food choices in relationship to work, however, this study can also be used in the continuing effort to improve lorry driver’s health and wellbeing.   Keywords: Lorry drivers, food, nutrition and health risk / I tid och otid

L'objet de la thèse consiste à interroger un phénomène : la présence croissante de femmes dans le métier de conducteur routier simultanément aux transformations importantes qui le traversent. La description des propriétés sociologiques et des conditions de travail des conductrices a été réalisée à partir de récits de vie, d'observations du travail et de données quantitatives obtenues par voie de questionnaire. Le développement de postes journaliers en même temps que se déployaient des stratégies pour faire venir de nouveaux candidats (appels de la profession en direction des femmes pour répondre à des difficultés de recrutement de personnels roulants), ont semble-t-il trouvé une résonance auprès de certaines femmes. Les unes déjà attirées par ce métier, les autres considérant que cela pouvait présenter quelque avantage. La thèse montre que le métier de conducteur routier peut offrir des potentialités d'ajustement aux temporalités spécifiques des femmes, tout en leur permettant d'expérimenter une activité professionnelle éloignée des caractéristiques des emplois ou fonctions qu'elles occupent le plus souvent dans un contexte où leur infériorité numérique leur confère un statut d'exception. On a pu établir que sur le plan de la stricte réalisation du travail, les hommes et les femmes qui exercent ce métier sont semblables. Pris dans les mêmes contraintes, ils agissent de manière similaire pour atteindre des objectifs de production qu'ils partagent. Sur d'autres plans, les conducteurs des deux sexes se distinguent. Ces différences tiennent principalement à la position particulière des femmes dans ce métier. Minoritaires parmi les hommes dans un métier construit autour de valeurs masculines, elles doivent adopter des comportements spécifiques pour se faire accepter comme des professionnelles à part entière d'une part, pour neutraliser les rapports de séduction et évacuer toute suspicion quand à leurs motivations à évoluer dans ce milieu, d'autre part / The subject of the thesis is to question a phenomenon : women's increasing presence among the lorry drivers simultaneously with the important transformations in the profession. The description of the sociological properties and the working conditions of the female lorry drivers was realized from interviews, observations of the work and quantitative data obtained by questionnaire.The development of daily posts at the same time as strategies towards the women to answer the difficulties of recruitment, seems to have found an echo with some women. Some of them were already attracted by this job, others considered that it could present some advantage.The research shows that the profession of lorry driver can offer potentialities of adjustment to the specific temporality of the women, while allowing them to experiment a professional activity remote from characteristics of jobs or functions which they occupy mostly in a context where their numerical inferiority confers them a status of exception. We were able to establish that from the point of view of the strict realization of the work, men and women who exercise this job are similar. They have the same constraints and they act in a similar way to reach objectives of production which they share. But the drivers of both sexes distinguish themselves. These differences come from the particular position of the women in this job. Members of a minority part among the men in a job built around male values, they have, on one hand, to adopt specific behaviour to be accepted as full professionals, on the other hand, to evacuate any suspicion about their motivations to evolve in this male environment

Prolonged time sitting has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cardiovascular mortality (CVM), all-cause mortality, diabetes and some cancers. Workers in occupations where there is no alternative to sitting can best be defined as compulsory sedentary workers , which involve bus and lorry drivers amongst others. Limited research is available on the health behaviours and health profiles of individuals working within these occupations. This thesis adopts a mixed methods approach and fits within the MRC framework for the development of complex interventions to specifically investigate bus and lorry drivers sedentary behaviours and physical activity levels in association with their cardiovascular health. Chapter 3 describes a pilot study, which results showed bus drivers accumulate 12 hours sitting on workdays and presented higher than the recommended ranges for BMI, body fat, waist circumference and blood pressure. Chapter 4 explores the validity of using an ActiGraph accelerometer compared to the activPAL to assess bus drivers sedentary behaviours. Results highlight that compared to the activPAL, the ActiGraph underestimates sedentary time during workdays (151minutes/day) and working hours (172min/day). Chapter 5 phenotypes UK lorry drivers sedentary behaviours and non-sedentary behaviours during workdays and non-workdays and examines lorry drivers markers of cardiovascular health. Lorry drivers accumulate 13 hours sitting on workdays and 8 hours on non-workdays and presented an ill-cardiovascular profile. Chapter 6 examines the effects of an intervention designed to promote PA and reduce sedentary time on a range of cardiovascular risk factors in a sample of lorry drivers. Chapter 7 presents a process evaluation of the Structured Health Intervention for Truckers (SHIFT) programme described in Chapter 6. This thesis highlights that bus and lorry drivers accumulate the highest amount of sitting time reported up to date, together with high levels of physical inactivity and an ill-cardiovascular profile. However, positive changes in cardiovascular risk factors were observed when drivers increased their daily average of step counts. Overall, these results emphasise that targeting bus and lorry drivers health behaviours should be a public health priority.