Business Travel Linked To Health Issues ? Expats Abroad

May 13, 2011

An interesting study for those expats who do a lot of travelling on business. Researchers at Columbia University have discovered that those travelling for two weeks a month or more have a higher body max index, a higher rate of obesity and poorer self related health than those who travel far less frequently. Drawing from the records of more than 13,000 workers enrolled in a corporate wellness program, they found that nearly 80% travelled at least one night a month and 1% were travelling more than 20 nights.

The study showed the those who travelled most often, at least 20 days per month, have poorer health in a variety of areas than those who travel 1-6 days a month. The most intensive travellers had:

An average BMI of 27.5kg/m2, where light travellers had 26.1

An average HDL level of 53.3ml/DL against 56.1 for light travellers

Were 260% more likely to rate their own health as fair to poor compared to light travellers.

Staff who never travelled on business also showed poor results in the study, with 60% being more likely than light travellers to rate their health as poor. It is thought this may reflect what authors call the ?healthy worker effect?, meaning those with poor health would be less inclined to travel. Authors also note that 81% of business related travelling is done in personal cars, which would lead to long hours of sitting and a much higher probability of poor food choices.

The study could incentivise companies to enrol employees in a company health plan, which have been shown to increase the general health of employees, increase productivity and could reduce insurance costs, meaning cheap health insurance could be offered to all workers.

Source: http://expatsabroad.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/business-travel-linked-to-health-issues/

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