CarriersEdge completes new wellness series

CarriersEdge, a Newmarket, Ontario-based provider of online driver training for the trucking industry, has completed a new wellness series: Healthy Eating and Exercise for Drivers.

Studies over the last decade show that obesity amongst professional drivers is twice as prevalent compared with the rest of the adult working population. In addition, a large percentage of drivers are daily smokers, with some studies indicating numbers as high as 65-70 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 25 percent of drivers report getting enough physical activity in a week. This results in more drivers having to come off the road for medical reasons and a life expectancy about 16 years shorter than average.

The new titles are designed to help educate professional drivers on making healthier choices when it comes to diet and exercise. The suite of nine wellness modules CarriersEdge has developed in the past year includes recognizing and managing fatigue, measures to protect against illness and information about viruses and vaccines.

Healthy Eating provides a three step process to follow in choosing the right foods as well as helping drivers determine their hunger levels and food habits. The course also examines what food labels mean and how marketing tries to influence your food purchases. After completing this course, learners will be able to:

• Use the USDA's MyPlate nutrition guide or Canada’s Food Guide to identify healthy foods.
• Determine the nutritional value of a food item using a nutrition label.
• Describe how to replace unhealthy habits.
• Identify cues for thirst, hunger and cravings.
• Explain how marketing influences your food choices.
  

Exercise for Drivers explains the risks of falling into a sedentary lifestyle and how to step into an exercise routine based on an individual’s “fitness mindset.” The three main exercise categories are discussed, and exercises that can be modified for any fitness level are detailed for learners to put together a custom program alongside their carrier’s wellness team. After completing this course, learners will be able to:

• Identify the characteristics and risks of a sedentary lifestyle.
• Examine their fitness mindset and how to progress to fitness goals.
• Identify opportunities to perform the three basic types of exercise.
• Tailor an exercise to match beginner or advanced fitness levels.
  

“For both these courses, we worked with our industry partners to put together information professional drivers can use while they’re on the road,” Jane Jazrawy, CEO of CarriersEdge, says. “What makes our courses unique is that in addition to offering instruction on how to choose healthy foods and plan exercise routines, we also focus on the psychological factors preventing people from making those choices. We like to highlight the science behind what happens to the human body when you change habits.”

Healthy Eating and Exercise for Drivers are each comprised of two smaller modules that can be taken separately. The courses include text, images, interactive exercises, real-life examples, quizzes and a final test, according to CarriersEdge.

The full suite of wellness courses can be taken any time or place where professional drivers have access to a device and internet connection, giving them the flexibility to keep up to date with training while traveling or at home. Courses are available in multiple languages, in introductory, refresher and remedial formats, on subjects including defensive driving, hours-of-service rules, vehicle inspections and handling hazardous materials.