Being an airline pilot for decades is a sedentary job. Is it possible to be healthy, active, and counter the negative health effects of sitting for hours at a time? Like most people I want to live a healthy long life, is this doable? Does the sitting make exercise futile because every hour you sit supposedly it counters positive health choices? Eating healthy is doable,
James,
Most business type jobs are sedentary, being a pilot is no more or less so. Exercise of course always helps and most pilots are physically fit.
Chris
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James,
The answer is yes but it’s challenging. I’ll tell you a quick story. At Hawaiian we have pilots that fly 717 Interisland and are home every night and A330/767 pilots who fly worldwide anywhere from 2-5day trips. About 6mos ago I was working a BNE trip which is also where our 717 pilots go to sim. We all stay at the same hotel and they offer a very nice buffet breakfast. One morning a bunch of us were all down there at the same time so we pulled a few tables together. At some point I took a look around me and was immediately struck by an undeniable fact. The 717 guys were all fit and looked great and the widebody guys, well they had gotten “widebodies” themselves and generally looked pretty lousy. What struck me even further was the 717 guys were having eggs, bacon, pancakes and muffins while the 330 guys were eating fruit and yogurt. Now you can argue that this was a random sampling and it could have easily been the other way but I can tell you from experience it’s not.
That’s the main reason I’m happy as a clam to be going back to the 717. I honestly believe it will add years to my life. Unless of course I get skin cancer from all my time at the beach 
Adam
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Thank you both
Is it possible to be a healthy fit guy and flying international wide bodies?
As I said above “The answer is yes but it’s challenging”. Particularly as you get older.
Adam
Is BNE an airport acronym?
Nope. It’s an IATA (International Air Transport Association) airport code. EVERY airport has one.
Adam
Sure beats the heck out of the ICAO codes, I have a much harder time remembering those.
Oooh wait I have a good one, BNE means Better Not Enter (without fumigation)
I crack myself up…
Adam
3 Likes