Good health should be a top priority for commuters

Date published: 3/23/2008

IN TODAY'S fast-paced society, it's easy to lose perspective of what's really important.

There's a lot of irony in modern life--we work to obtain the most up-to-date conveniences and luxuries, yet have less and less time to enjoy them.

After a decades-long trend of shrinking workdays, we're working longer and longer hours again.

We are more knowledgeable about our health than ever before, yet we have more heart disease and obesity than ever.

We're commuting longer and longer distances, adding to the strains on our health.

We're not as active as we used to be. It's hard when you spend a good chunk of the day sitting in a car, or on the train.

We don't walk as much as we used to, relying on our cars even to collect our mail or go around the corner for lunch. We jockey and fight for the nearest parking space at the mall.

Along with all that sitting comes increased back strain, which makes us even less likely to want to move when we finally get home.

Spending so much of our lives commuting robs us of time we could spend with our families or hitting the gym.

I've been making a concerted effort to get into shape as I enter my 40s, but it's a real struggle to find the time to fit it into my schedule.

Many employers, like mine, realize that healthy employees are more productive employees, and offer on-site health centers or group memberships at nearby health clubs. That's great, but the clubs tend to be expensive, and to use them you have to either start extra early or stay extra late.

Then there's the abundance of convenience foods available to time-starved commuters. Nobody wants to cook after getting home at 7 or later every night. We'd rather just order takeout or go through one of those seductively convenient drive-throughs.

So what can we do about it? A lot, actually. Just to let you know where I'm coming from, for the past two years I have been on a quest to get into shape. Over this time, I've managed to lose 85 pounds, and I feel better than I have since high school.

Date published: 3/23/2008