Cabbies on road to ruin with rise in stress levels

Published on Monday 14 September 2009 09:52

DRIVING around Edinburgh's choked up streets on a daily basis is enough to drive anyone's stress levels through the roof.

Now taxi drivers in the Capital who take to the roads night and day have medical proof that it is bad for your health.

A study carried out by a city-based blood pressure organisation on 50 city black-cab drivers found that nearly three quarters of them had high blood pressure – compared to the national average of one in four middle-aged people who are thought to have it.

The tests, done by the High Blood Pressure Foundation, have revealed that while the state of traffic may be some cause of the problems, it was the static nature of the job and the antisocial hours – often leading to quick, takeaway meals – that had the biggest impact on their health. The foundation has now called on cabbies to monitor their diet more closely as part of the national Know Your Numbers Week, which ended yesterday.

Raymond Davidson, secretary of the Edinburgh Taxi Association, said: "It is a problem for many drivers.

"You can be sitting in your cab for upwards of 12 hours and a lot of guys eat junk food.

"Something like a diet chart may be helpful, it's not many jobs that are like this, and of course after driving through Edinburgh all day or night it is tiring, and doing some exercise isn't necessarily what you want to be doing."

Keith Bell, the secretary of Sighthill Community Council, has been a city taxi driver for many years.

He said: "It's no wonder our blood pressure is sky high.

"We've got trams to deal with, congestion, roadworks, drunks stepping out in front of your cab, passengers being sick and urinating all over your seats."

The results also offer a damning geographical indictment, revealing that in a similar study in London, only 50 per cent of cab drivers had high blood pressure.

Susan Inch, the director of the HBPF, said: "It's worrying to see that nearly three quarters of the cabbies we tested in Edinburgh had high blood pressure readings.

"It is not surprising given that 50 per cent of them admitted to not watching their salt intake – too much salt is known to raise blood pressure – and regularly eating high fat convenience foods.

"The good news is that they now know their blood pressure numbers and how to lower them. We hope that many others will be as willing as the cabbies we tested to take the opportunity to have a free check during Know Your Numbers Week."

Mike Rich, executive director of the Blood Pressure Association, which also helped carry out the London study, added: "There does appear to be a blood pressure divide between the cabbies we tested in London and Edinburgh, and this may be down to their respective diets and lifestyles.

"High blood pressure is the major cause of strokes and heart attacks."