KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
28th January 2021

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Buff builders bin the booze for burly biceps

Forget the pub - white van men are more likely to be found in the gym working out than drinking pints, according to a new survey.

A study of 1,000 tradespeople by IronmongeryDirect, the long-established online and mail order supplier of ironmongery products to the trade, found that a substantial 69% of tradesmen don't go to the pub that often, while 10% never go. Some 17% go once or twice a week but only 2% go most days and 2% every day.

However, 32% admitted that they regularly go to the gym and exercise, and 50% said they are watching their weight. Astonishingly, 13% are currently on the Atkins diet, 13% are using Slimming World, 11% use Herbalife, 8% are on the 5:2 diet and 5% are on Weight Watchers!

When asked to describe their food habits and lifestyle, 34% said they lead a healthy lifestyle and 5% described themselves as very healthy. Half (50%) said their lifestyle was average but only 10% said they were not that healthy, which is much lower than the rest of the population who admitted they led an unhealthy lifestyle (18%).

The survey was conducted as part of IronmongeryDirect's 'The real white van man revealed' campaign, which aims to shed the stereotypes often associated with tradesmen.

"We decided to launch this campaign to paint a real picture of the white van man, who are often tarnished with negative stereotypes," says Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect.

"While the results of the survey may be quite surprising to some, it just goes to show how much tradesmen take their jobs seriously. Working in a trade can be rather labour intensive, so it's important that tradespeople are relatively fit and healthy to complete the job at hand. And it's great to see that the majority lead an active and healthy lifestyle, with most preferring the gym over the pub."

T: 0808 168 28 28
E: [email protected]
W: www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk

13th November 2015