(ABC.com) —Is the morning commute grinding your gears? It might also be hurting your health.
People who drive long distances to work are more likely to be overweight than their non-commuting counterparts, according to a new study that links urban sprawl with expanding waistlines.
“It could just be a function of having less discretionary time to be physically active,” said Christine Hoehner of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., lead author of the study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Or it could be related to people burning fewer calories because they’re sitting longer.”
Previous studies have tied time spent sitting to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and early death.
To tease out the health effects of the daily drive, Hoehner and colleagues studied the medical records of nearly 4,300 commuters in Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, Texas. They found the more people drove, the less they exercised.
“I think the message for folks who live a long way from work and have a desk job is to find ways to build physical activity into their day,” said Hoehner, adding that workplaces should “allow and even encourage physical activity breaks.”
Hoehner said diet could also be to blame, theorizing that commuters have less time to cook and more time to snack in the car.
Weight wasn’t the only thing that increased with driving distance: The longer the drive, the higher the driver’s blood pressure.
“Previous studies have pointed to daily exposure to traffic, particularly the unpredictability of traffic, as being a source of chronic stress,” said Hoehner, describing how frustration can send blood pressure through the roof. “Our study is the first to show that long commutes are associated with higher weight, lower fitness levels and higher blood pressure, all of which are strong predictors of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.”
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Wow I knew that commuting and disliking my job not to mention the people I worked with and for was killing me. Thank god my work place closed down when it did and I was made redundant about year and a half ago…I felt sick every day and no one believed me at work. after I left I got very ill and ended up in hospital because of the stress I had to face everyday. This is now 1 and a half years since I was made redundant and I am only just getting better now and I am on an good exercise program i tailored for my self along with sensible eating and losing weight I feel that i am now on the road to recovery I still have a very long way to go. I will take it a day at a time and will continue with my Exercise program everyday until I reach my goals.