Carl Wells sat in traffic for as much as an hour driving home from work every day when he first moved to Atlanta five years ago. He lost family time with his wife and four children. And he gained 30 pounds.
Most Americans typically gain about a pound per year as they age. For Wells, commuting put his weight gain on the fast track.
“I really did not like driving to work,” said Wells, who works as a senior program analyst at UPS. “It just felt like a waste of time. And by the time I got home after work, I’d want to spend time with my kids, so it was really hard to find time to exercise.”
After a year of driving to the office, Wells switched from four wheels to two. He started biking the 20 miles each way from Woodstock to Alpharetta.
Wells experienced firsthand what a new study by Washington University Medical School in St. Louis reveals: People who commute more than 15 miles to work each day are more likely to be obese, have bigger bellies and suffer higher blood pressure.
Long commutes are putting many Atlantans in a danger zone. The average round-trip commute in metro Atlanta is about 35 miles and takes roughly one hour, according to The Clean Air Campaign.
In the study of nearly 4,300 residents in two Texas cities, researchers discovered: About 18 percent of those with short commutes were obese, compared with 25 percent of those who commuted more than 15 miles; about 45 percent of those with short commutes had elevated blood pressure, compared with 52 percent of those who traveled more than 15 miles each way. (Those numbers were not adjusted for age or gender).
People with longer commutes were also more likely to carry more fat around the belly, where it is particularly bad for cardiovascular health.
While several studies have looked at the connection between stress and gridlock traffic, this study is considered the first of its kind exploring, mile by mile and pound by pound, the connection between commuting distances and obesity.
It’s not simply the act of sitting in a car that leads to packing on the pounds, but long commutes often make it more challenging to exercise and follow through with healthy habits, according to Christine Hoehner, a public health researcher and lead author of the Washington University Medical School study.
For example, she said, a long-distance commuter may have less discretionary time to exercise. People who slog through long commutes also may have less time to cook healthy meals, and may be more likely to stop at a fast-food restaurant on the way home.
And while in some ways a car is no different than sitting in a chair or on the couch watching TV, experts say a car has some things going against it. For one, if you are stuck in traffic, you are really stuck. There’s no chance of standing up to even stretch the legs. Commuting in a car can make your blood boil as you face an endless line of brake lights. It’s that combination of long commutes and a desk job that adds up to a lot of sedentary time, experts say.
And though Hoehner said it might be worth considering moving closer to your job, she realizes that’s not realistic for many people, especially when housing prices are slumping and workers face job uncertainty.
The trick is figuring out how to fight the bulge when you are not behind the wheel.
“A commute could be two hours of your day every day and you may have little control over that,” said Hoehner. “I think you need to look at everything else in your life and find ways to incorporate exercise into your life.”
Wellness program helps
After starting a new job in Marietta a couple of years ago, Keith Bowermaster’s weight crept upward.
Lots of time behind the wheel meant little time for exercise, and that added up to 20 more pounds on his 6-feet, 1-inch frame in about a year.
Here’s his scenario: He drives from Cumming to Marietta every day, spending anywhere between 75 to 90 minutes in the car — each way.
He doesn’t get home until 6:30 or 7 p.m. at the earliest.
By that hour, his No. 1 priority is spending time with his 3-year-old daughter before she goes to bed at 8 p.m. Then, he wants to chill and spend time with his wife.
“By that time, I am just exhausted . . . I’ve tried jogging at 9 p.m., but I am just too tired, it doesn’t work,” said Bowermaster, spokesman for WellStar Health System.
All that time on the road was paving the way to poor health.
But late last year, Bowermaster decided to make a change. It all started when he took advantage of a new employee wellness program at WellStar designed to help employees know their health status and put a plan in motion to make healthy lifestyle changes.
While generally in good health, Bowermaster was too heavy at 240 pounds. His cholesterol was a little high. Nothing alarming, but he knew he needed to change directions.
In December, he started meeting with a personal trainer three times a week. He now wears a pedometer given to him by his employer. He is down 13 pounds and feels better.
He gets up before 5 a.m. on the days he meets with his trainer. Meanwhile, the long commute isn’t going anywhere.
“We aren’t moving,” said Bowermaster, who is 41. “For the most part, I just try to grin and bear it. At the same time, I had to figure this out.”
Forget fast food, walk
Time on the road was also not good for Bonny Dewberry’s health. And her commute, she says, was tied to other bad habits.
“You stop at Chick-fil-A for a biscuit and lemonade on the way to the office and then you pick up something quick on the way home,” said Dewberry, vice president at Fleishman-Hillard, a public relations company. “It’s never healthy. Even if you get a salad, by the time you add the croutons and the cheese, nuts and dressing, that’s not good for you either.”
She faces a monster commute — 62 miles each way to Atlanta from Thomaston. It can take up to an hour and 45 minutes each way.
But she loves her quiet retreat stretching three acres in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains —and she loves her job. She wasn’t willing to budge on either one.
At the same time, she needed to slam on the brakes on some aspects of her daily drive.
Late last year, Dewberry, who is 48, gave the boot to quick stops at fast-food restaurants. She now packs healthy snacks, including apples and raw cashews, every day. She started walking every day, beginning the day with a pre-sunrise walk.
At the office, she tries to get up from her chair to stretch and move around every 30 minutes or so. And once she rolls into her driveway at the end of the day, she takes an evening stroll. She doesn’t even go inside her house first.
“I know if I go in the house I get distracted,” she said. “You have to figure out what works for you and do it. I’ve figured out what works for me and keeps me energized and going.”
She’s lost 30 pounds and hopes to lose 70 pounds more.
Biker gets a boost
Back in the commuting swath somewhere between Woodstock and Alpharetta, Wells, the biker, has settled into a routine that involves taking his car to work on Monday mornings — and leaving it there until the end of the day Friday (when he drives it home). This way, he’s got his car at work if he really needs it.
Most weeks, he bikes eight trips — adding up to about 150 miles a week. He is still slightly overweight, but credits the regular pedaling for healthy blood pressure and generally good health.
The 49-year-old said he takes advantage of a perk at UPS — on-site showers for employees — and he’s also signed up for the Clean Air Campaign’s commuter rewards program, which gives him gift cards for ditching the solo drive. The Clean Air Campaign also offers him a guaranteed ride home up to five times a year if he’s ever in bind and can’t bike home.
Surprisingly, biking to and from the office, particularly when considering the brutal, afternoon bumper-to-bumper crush of traffic, doesn’t take Wells that much longer than traveling by car.
“There can be that congestion near stop lights where you are stuck in a car and it can take two or three light changes before you pass through,” said Wells. “And I just sneak by on my bike.”
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