MORRISONS LAUNCHES NEW HEALTHY FOOD RANGE
Morrisons launching a healthier eating range, NuMe, to help the UK’s 465,000 licensed HGV drivers and Morrisons’ 1,207 HGV and van drivers make a U-turn to a healthier lifestyle.
The supermarket is piloting a series of initiatives at truck stops across the UK this week including:
The NuMe HGV (Healthier Goods Vehicle): serving up meals at truck parks around the UK, demonstrating that eating healthier doesn’t have to mean sacrificing on taste or taking ages to prepare.
Freshly cooked ‘fry-down’ menus: offering healthier versions of the traditional ‘fry-up’ breakfast to show the small switches truckers can make towards better health.
‘Weigh-by’ health check clinics: offering HGV drivers a health MOT, including a body mass index check with one-to-one advice.
The research reveals that nearly a third (28%) of the nation’s truckers are obese or morbidly obese against a national average of a fifth (22%).
It also shows there is a limited choice of healthier food at service stations (45%) as being the main reason for the trucking community’s expanding waistlines, closely followed by the belief that healthier food is not convenient (42%).
Practising GP, Dr Sarah Jarvis, said:
“Typical roadside convenience foods such as burgers, sausage rolls, crisps and fry-ups are high in saturated fat; a typical fry-up can contain more than half of the recommended daily calorie allowance.
“Travelling for long periods can make it difficult to avoid these types of foods, especially when the roads are lined with fast food outlets.
“But by preparing and buying healthier food in advance, such as the Morrisons NuMe range, you can ensure you eat nutritionally balanced meals.
“Obesity is a huge burden on the NHS and although junk food may seem a quick and easy short-term option whilst on the road, it doesn’t pay off in terms of health in the long run.”
The research by Morrisons NuMe also reveals that 41% of truck drivers worry about their health, and 22% say they would like to be healthier.
More than a third (34%) say being ‘on the road’ makes it difficult to be healthy, and almost a third snack on biscuits, and more than a fifth snack on crisps daily.
The NuMe Healthier Goods Vehicle will be visiting truck stops around the UK this week, serving truckers at major roads in Suffolk, Warwickshire and Cumbria.
