We have all been there.  You are on a business trip and it is 5pm.  Time to clock out.  You have a couple of options.  Go to a local sporting event?  Go out to dinner?  Perhaps a movie?  Rarely do we take the time in an new city to workout.  Most hotel exercise rooms are small, crowded, and ineffective.  Often they feel like a technicality, so the hotel can advertise they offer an exercise room.  Also, with today's bag checking policies, it is hard to checking a bag just so you can fit in an extra pair of running shoes and workout clothes.  Best just keep it light and do carry on baggage.  Bottom line: working out while traveling can be difficult.  That's why an article from LiveScience caught our eye. 

People who travel extensively for business are at a higher risk for a variety of health problems including obesity and high cholesterol.

That’s the finding of two researchers at Columbia University who found that the more often a person travels for work, the less healthy they are likely to be.

The research was conducted by comparing the health data of more than 13,000 employees from a corporate wellness program. Close to 80 percent of the employees traveled at least one night per month. Nearly 1 percent were extensive travelers -- spending as many as 20 nights a month on the road.

The researchers found that employees who did not travel at all were actually a less healthy group as compared to light travelers who travelled between one and six nights a month. Researchers think this may reflect the fact that those workers were already unhealthy and therefore, did not travel as much for work.

Otherwise, rates of “less-than-good” health increased along with nights of travel. Extensive travelers were 260 percent more likely to rate their health as either fair or poor, compared to light travelers.

Other health risk factors showed similar patterns: obesity was 33 percent more likely in nontravelers and 92 percent more likely for extensive travelers. The same two groups were also more likely to have high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

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