A research project, which aims to support farmers in improving their lifestyles to reach sustainable levels of good heart health, has shown that four in every five farmers have a waistline which is bigger than what is considered healthy.
The Farmers Have Hearts-Cardiovascular Health Programme (FHH-CHP) involves practitioners, regulators or industry stakeholders, including Teagasc; the National Centre for Men’s Health – IT Carlow and UCD School of Agriculture and Health Sciences supported by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA); Glanbia Ireland (GI); the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF); and the Health Service Executive (HSE).
The FHH-CHP is a large-scale health behaviour change programme that involves 868 dairy and cattle farmers.
Health research
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Ireland, and research has shown that it is more prevalent among farmers than in other occupational groups.
The FHH-CHP programme consists of a physical health check and survey at Week 0; three different health support options which farmers can self-select; and a follow-up health check at Week 52.
The Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) planned, supervised and implemented the health checks; the HSE funded the health coach intervention and partly funded the health checks, and GI supported the recruitment of the dairy farmers and provided additional research funding.
Findings of study
Overall, 74% of farmers have four or more risk factors for CVD, which increases their chance of having a stroke or heart attack threefold compared to those with fewer risk factors.
Prevalance of risk factors among farmers
The findings, which are published in the Teagasc TResearch Autumn 2020 journal, emphasise the importance of supporting farmers to adopt and sustain health behaviour changes and improve their cardiovascular health.
While 80% of farmers surveyed have a waistline which is greater than 94cm, worryingly seven in ten farmers eat salty or sugary snacks every day increasing their health risks, while 40% have high blood pressure.
The researchers say that the detailed results of the health checks highlight the need for programmes that support farmers to improve their diet, increase their levels of physical activity and enhance their well-being.