Staying Fit While on the Go: The Diet Problem Facing Business Travelers

 Staying Fit While on the Go: The Diet Problem Facing Business Travelers

Poor eating habits have continued unabated in the 21st century, even though proper nutrition information is easily accessible to nearly anybody with a library card or Internet connection.

This national dietary deficit is not attributable to one particular piece of nutritional misinformation. Neither can it be stated that health-conscious Americans aren't trying or interested. More people in the United States are concerned about their health now than in the past. A logistical difficulty, not an idealistic, strategic, or tactical one, is the problem of bad eating habits.

Because of their hectic schedules, people of all ages in the United States view eating healthy food as an indulgence, something to do only on rare occasions or when they really don't have the time to cook. This problem of maintaining a nutritious diet is never more acute, though, than for the ordinary business traveler[i].

For the average business traveler, the airport is the first stop on the path to the second most unhealthy meal of their trip. Most of these transportation centers have fast food and snack options, which tend to be heavy in carbs, unsaturated fats, and calories.

What is the primary source of unhealthy eating if airports and stations rank second? Surely it's on board the plane.

Airline cuisine used to take a lot of heat for being bland and uninteresting. The nutritionally defective meals that most business travelers are treated to while en route has become more of a problem as people have become more conscious of the nutrition—or lack thereof—in some food sources over the past decade.

Indeed, research from the American weight-loss program Nutricise[ii] shows that the average aircraft meal has more than a thousand calories. More than half of the calories consumed by "average eaters" each day come from just one meal, which is quite a lot. Calorie counting is just one aspect of this problem. Fatty acids account for over half of the 1,000+ calories in an aeroplane meal, which is fifteen percent more than the thirty percent daily fat-from-calories recommendation made by some authorities [iii].

Vegetarian and vegan alternatives, which are usually (but not necessarily) lower in saturated fat, calories, and salt, are becoming more available on several planes as a result of this challenge. Unfortunately, just one of the ten airlines studied in 2003[iv] by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) was found to offer readily available healthful food options. Although business travelers may not always have the time to plan ahead, three out of ten airlines did provide some healthy food options. Vegetarian (i.e., low-fat, low-sodium, low-calorie) in-flight meals were severely lacking on the other six airlines polled.

Furthermore, business travelers encounter an additional obstacle when it comes to food that individuals not on the aircraft are not compelled to deal with. The majority of individuals "on the ground" have the freedom to leave restaurants or make conscious decisions about their food purchases, whereas those "in the air" are frequently compelled to accept unhealthy options. Meetings, airports, and more meetings means that most business travelers are usually rushing from one place to another. Consequently, it is frequently preferable to consume the unhealthy, too caloric, sodium-heavy, and otherwise unbalanced airline meal rather than go hungry.

Thanks to the efforts of groups like the PCRM, the topic of business traveler nutrition is starting to get some attention, but not quite fast enough. Over 200 million people travel for business purposes in the United States each year[v], which means that many people who really should be eating healthier are stuck eating fast food.

Most airlines have made a feeble attempt to update their menus in response to this enormous demand from business travelers. There have been a number of "nutritional supplement" solutions put out to address the nutritional needs of business travelers; they tend to be in the shape of fluids or bars.

Much with the revamped airline meal program, most of these supplements don't meet the nutritional needs of passengers by delivering enough protein without adding unnecessary calories or carbs. Furthermore, most of the time, important nutrients are missing from the small number of goods that have partially satisfied these calorie, protein, and carbohydrate needs.

But there are a handful of health-conscious items that are getting fantastic reviews from business travelers for their high-quality nutrition and their ability to withstand the rigors of airport baggage handlers without leaking. Plus, you won't need to dilute, mix, or take with a lot of water or other fluid these goods because they are liquids, so they're easy to swallow.

Business travelers may keep healthy without sacrificing time or energy with these smart and scientifically tested nutritional solutions. They offer a complete variety of vital vitamins and can be taken as a meal replacement or supplement.


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