FAT people are Discriminated against at prime

I have seen that. Poor person. He's dead, He just don't know it. Scarres me the is driving 40 tons when it happens.

 

Yeah, your right, I shouldn't of mocked him. If he's happy, what the F is it to me. We drivers shouldn't be turning on each other.

 

How is this any better, saying you wont turn on another driver, but ending with calling someone else ugly?

 

.........

 

I have to try and stick with the OP comment and topic of discussion b/c somehow this has devolved into another subject. I don't see how it's discriminatory when the company is not only looking out for YOUR best interest, but the interest of the general motoring public as well. I guess the military is discriminatory against fat people too according the logic of the OP? If a person doesn't have the discipline to make an effort to take care of themself when they're not truck driving it will only be exacerbated if and when that person gets behind the wheel and enters the lifestyle of a truck driver. Look at it as a favor, they don't assist "fat" people expedite their demise.

 

I'll turn on another driver in a heartbeat if it means keeping the roads safer. Brotherhood does not apply when you put the lives of people at risk.

 

wait 'till he goes for a dip in his speedo

 

Hi Everyone, I've been lurking for awhile and have read through most of these sleep apnea posts. It's interesting to hear everyone's opinions and I have to add that some of them made me chuckle out loud. Some comments are clearly spot on and some are dangerously off-base. But after reading from so many people that have legitimate questions and concerns, I decided that I would jump in and offer to help clarify some of this.

I'm a CDL holder like everyone here (I think everyone here has a CDL). I have my own truck (2009 IH ProStar). I'm a veteran with 13 years in the the Army as an 11BPC/91A-V. For you non-veterans out there, that means that I was an airborne infantryman that carried a Dragon. And then I re-classed as a medic and then specialized as a respiratory therapist. (I got hurt and while convalescing, I went to an Army school.

Being a respiratory therapist and a registered sleep therapist with over 20 years in the medical field I hope I can add to this thread. I still work in that field from time to time whenever I get off the road. It's a good work combination for me. Also, I've been a PAP (positive airway pressure) user for 15 years. I use "PAP" and not CPAP or APAP or BiPAP because I swap from system to system as my needs change. More on that later.

I am 5'8" and 205lbs. My BMI is 31.2, which you see below classify's me as obese. But like many of you, when you look at me, you wouldn't call me obese at all.

And yes, my medical is current. Luckily for me, I have a personal physician and a DOT examiner who is familiar with me.

I would like to address the issue of BMI first.

BMI is a relatively straightforward equation that measures a person's body fat by comparing their weight to their height. The formula is Weight in Pounds / Height in Inches X 703. If you want, you can use an online calculator, here is one http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ You can also calculate using a metric model but this IS America so I'll leave that you others to explain. LOL

There are four different categories that a person can fall under:

18.4 or lower: Underweight.
18.5 to 24.9: Normal weight.
25 to 29.9: Overweight.
30 or higher: Obese.

The BMI was never designed as a tool to judge and individual person's weight. It was originally used to measure the collective weight of an entire population. The math was straightforward and it classified people easily into the four from above. This made BMI hugely popular with the insurance companies because they like to categorize people into classes, so the they could easily charge based on said classes.

The shortcoming is that when you do this, you lose a lot of perspective. What if your BMI was 29.99999999 and your neighbor's BMI was 30.? Does that .000000001 make you a less fat of person? The answer is clearly no but BMI doesn't allow for this kind of perspective.

The the second issue and many have figured out is that the measurement of weight doesn't differentiate between "good" weight=muscle and "bad" weight=fat. If you were to look at a pro football player like Steven Jackson from the St Louis Rams, you would say he wasn't a bit overweight. But at 6'2" and 240lbs, his BMI is 30.8 and that makes him obese. I've seen Steven play in person and he isn't fat or slow.

Another factor that makes the BMI a less than stellar index is that is was originally designed for men, using male data. Women don't stand a chance with the BMI calculator.

The good news is that BMI isn't the only criteria used to identify a sleep apnea candidate.

Neck circumference is a very good indicator. The neck is the structure that houses the airway and specifically the area of the airway that will most likely be obstructed (lower airway). And when you gain weight, the additional weight actually narrows the airway while expanding the outer circumference of the neck. The problem is this correlation is consistent from person to person. We all add weight differently. And to complicate it even more, neck circumference alone won't work either because there are people who just have big necks.

So what is a reliable measure to use as a screening tool to identify sleep apneic people and in this case drivers? The answer is to use multiple measurements or in the medical world, Multiple Co-Morbid Disease Factors.

Some of the best:

Age
Weight
Neck
BMI
History of Hypertension (Hypetension and Sleep Apnea correlate well)
History of Cardiovascular Disease (Cardiovascular Disease and Sleep Apnea correlate well, especially Congestive Heart Failure)
Family History of Sleep Apnea
Reported or observed periods of Sleep Apnea (has your wife, GF or co-worker said, "Dude, you stop breathing in your sleep." Honestly, this is a go straight to get help-indicator.)
A candid personal self evaluation

Finally, a great sleep apnea consult and workup by a sleep-boarded sleep physician that gives a %$^%$& about you. It would help if they knew a little bit about what you do for work. Make sure that they are boarded in sleep and not just boarded. It does make a difference. (The question isn't whether there are quacks in the medical world, the question is whether you are willing to be treated by a quack and still call them Dr.)

Use good judgement, I support what Prime is trying to do. It's not perfect but after what happened to them in Pryor, OK, I think it's pretty cool that Robert Low took the initiative and decided to go after this. Many in the industry in his position would not have.

Sorry for the long winded-post.

 

One typo *The problem is this correlation is consistent from person to person.
Should be "The problem is this correlation isn't consistent from person to person."

And I forgot to add in the Co-Morbid Disease Factors, "Gender". If you're a dude, you're going to be more likely to be apneic.

I was trying to close up before pulling away from this stop. Sorry for the rush.

 

A very informative post. I've never liked the BMI for reasons you've stated