Laying bare the great myth of that healthy country lifestyle

Country Living with Francis Farragher

A lot of the time, ‘we all believe what we want to’, and for those of us who spend some of our time on the land and in the great outdoors, we are inclined to reassure ourselves that we’re healthy creatures by virtue of our regular contact with nature.

The reality, I’m afraid, is an awful lot different, as the latest study by the Irish Heart Foundation spells out pretty grimly. Instead of farmers being healthier than the rest of the population, the ‘Farmers Have Hearts’ check-up programme, showed them to be at seriously high risk of heart attacks or strokes.

According to the Irish Heart Foundation, farmers are seven times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (heart/stroke) than other occupations, due to a combination of factors including high cholesterol and blood pressure as well as being overweight.

Much of this information was gathered from free check-ups carried out at marts across the country – in all probability the majority of those being assessed were more likely to fall into the full-time farmer category. So where is it all going wrong for a population that should be in tune with nature and keeping their bodies well exercised in their daily activities?

One of the ‘bottom lines’ is that these casual strolls we take through the fields to herd our stock are in fact too peaceful and restful. The latest recommendations from the health experts is that adults require about 20 minutes plus of vigorous exercise every day . . . alas that little stroll through the dandelions and daisies is far too leisurely to give us any benefit at all.

In the ‘Farmers Have Hearts’ programme, eight of 10 farmers who had their ‘vital statistics’ checked out, certainly had more to worry about when they went home than the prices they got at the mart that day.

Blood pressure, blood glucose levels, cholesterol, BMI (body mass index) and self reported factors such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, lack of physical activity and stress were also factored into the overall research report, which was undertaken by the Carlow Institute of Technology.

When all the information was processed, it was established that four out of every five farmers tested, had four or more cardiovascular risk factors. Quite bluntly, many of those people checked out were ‘walking time bombs’.

Those people who were ‘checked out’ at the marts up and down the country were advised ‘on the spot’ to arrange a consultation with their GPs, in order to put the first steps in place to try and correct a very serious situation for all the individuals concerned.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.