White van man has long had the stereotyped reputation of being a gym-dodging pasty lover. But that’s all changing according to a new survey.

Research shows that the average van driver will work out once a week, with more than 10% heading to the gym a staggering five times a week. And when your body’s a temple, then you don’t fill it with junk.

One in seven of those questioned leaves home with a packed lunch each day, while one in 10 claims to eat “a very healthy diet of fruit, vegetables and salad” when they’re on the road. Four in 10 drivers have now swapped sugary and salty snacks for healthy nibbles as well.

A spokesman for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, which commissioned the research, said:

“This research seems to show that nowadays, van drivers are leading a much healthier lifestyle than you might expect. Rather than grabbing whatever they can while out on the road, they are tucking into homemade lunches of salad and fruit – a far cry from the food you might expect them to be eating.”

It seems van drivers are sick of being stereotyped as overweight and impatient drivers. Six in 10 say they are “courteous drivers” while half claim to be “polite and understanding”.

Indeed, the whole idea of white van man is beginning to look outdated — of the 500 drivers questioned for this research, 43% were women!