88% of drivers overweight or obese, Logistics UK warns

Logistics UK has put its name to a fresh driver health push, and the numbers behind it explain why this is a compliance issue as much as a wellbeing one. Figures cited by the trade body's SHIFT research put 88% of drivers in the overweight or obese category, with 67% carrying high cholesterol - a workforce risk profile that any operator relying on that same pool of drivers for years to come cannot simply file under HR.

The announcement lands off the back of Driver Health Week, which ran from 1 to 6 September and leaned on the THRIVE wellness hub Logistics UK launched last year, offering guidance on nutrition, fitness and sleep alongside input from a Level 3 personal trainer and a physiotherapist. THRIVE has logged over a million digital engagements since launch. Chief executive Ben Fletcher used the moment to argue drivers deserve more than being taken for granted, a line aimed squarely at operators still treating driver welfare as an afterthought.

Why this matters: health metrics like these feed straight into fitness-to-drive assessments, sickness absence and recruitment costs at a time when the driver pool is already stretched. Fleets should expect wellbeing provision to become a harder line item in duty-of-care audits and BVRLA-style benchmarking, not just a nice-to-have.