Reducing Commercial Truck Driver BMI Through Motivational Interviewing and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Obesity is recognized as a national and global health epidemic. Commercial truck drivers (CTDs) have a higher obesity rate and lower life expectancy compared with the general population. CTDs work sedentary jobs with long hours that pose barriers to healthy eating and regular exercise. An evidenced-based practice (EBP) change project that used motivational interviewing (MI) and education regarding diet and exercise over a 4-week period was found to have a positive impact on CTDs behavior. Results revealed an increase in aggregated self-efficacy for weight loss (14.8%, exceeding the benchmark of 11%). For aggregated body mass index (BMI), CTDs lost a mean of 0.65 kg/m2, over a 4-week period which was statistically significant at p = .0001. The results suggest a short-term MI intervention can be effective when implemented as a clinical standard for CTDs.