Speaking to the Farming Independent, Dr Noel Richardson, director at the National Centre for Men’s Health (NCMH) in IT Carlow, said the findings will provide a greater understanding of how dietary habits potentially contribute to poorer health outcomes among farmers.

It is expected to also underline the need for health promotion interventions, including healthy eating campaigns, specifically aimed at farmers.

“A lot of farmers, even though they are producing very good food, their own diets aren’t necessarily that healthy. We found that farmers’ diets were very high on concentrated fats like fries and sugary snacks, and low on fruit and veg. Overall, farmers’ calorie intake is quite high relative to their energy outputs.”

Dr Richardson, a central figure in supporting farmer health intervention, cautioned about presumptions that farmers are “very active”.

“Farmers are very active when compared to other occupations, but a lot of work now is being done through machinery and farming has become very mechanised.

“I don’t think farmers are expending the same amount of energy as they might have 20 years ago. If they are not as active as they think they are, and they consume calories that exceeds their daily requirements, then they are going to put up weight and that’s a bad thing.

“So it’s both — their overall calorie intake is probably too high for their energy needs; and also the content of their diet is quite unhealthy, there are two factors at play.”

Obesity, he warned, is linked to many other health conditions, including: cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, diabetes and some cancers. Those overweight and engaged in manual occupations are also more at risk of back injury and other muscular skeletal problems because they are physically carrying around excess weight which puts a strain on different joints, particularly the lower back, he added.

Prone to accidents

“Obesity can lead to accidents because farmers are less mobile as they get older, and if they are carrying extra weight they will be more prone to accidents.”

While Dr Richardson stressed that farmers are not uniquely exposed to these health risks, he called for greater health intervention to be targeted specifically at the farming community.

“The levels of overweight and obesity are quite high among the population at large, for men and women, but particularly for men, so it’s not just farmers, and that’s an important point.

“We need to educate farmers about what their calorie requirements are and there needs to be more focus on what a healthy diet looks like — cutting down on the high-fat, highly-processed foods and having more focus on fruit and veg and healthier food options.

“I can only speculate, but I would be surprised if Covid-19 doesn’t result in later diagnosis of certain conditions, particular say cancers or other chronic conditions, because the available of appointments have been severely impacted.

“Farmers, because of the nature of rural isolated living, may be affected even more so by the impact of Covid on, not alone their physical, but also their mental health because certain services certainly have been adversely affected.

“I would surmise that bachelor farmers in the middle to older age in particular, may have become even more isolated, but there is no evidence to categorically say that.”

Approach

Dr Richardson was also adamant that there is a danger of “blaming farmers” for not looking after their health and for not going to the doctor.

He pointed to the ‘Farmers Have Hearts’ Cardiovascular Health Programme – a major study involving Teagasc, NCMH, the Irish Heart Foundation, Glanbia, the HSE and UCD – which indicated that farmers are at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

“When you look at that programme, we went out to marts and to co-ops to give farmers their health check and the level of buy-in was absolutely astonishing.

“Hardly any farmers dropped out over the follow-up year, the vast majority of them came back.

“When the approach is right, farmers will engage. Not every farmer in his work clothes wants to go into a GP practice and potentially sit there for two hours.”

He also pointed to On Feírm Ground, a programme designed to train up 800 private agricultural consultants and Teagasc advisors to be able to engage with farmers on basic health issues. It is due to be rolled out this autumn.

“Ag advisors are a critical point of contact for farmers on agricultural business, there is already that relationship of trust and safety. They’re well positioned to offer some support on health grounds if they see a farmer is distressed.

“Old habits die hard, changing culture happens slowly and incrementally. We’re certainly on the way, but there is still a good bit to go.

“I think farmers are still maybe preoccupied with their work and don’t quite see the significance of their health as the most important cog in the wheel.

“The key message is that without your own health, you’re livelihood and your farm is potentially compromised. Look after your own health first and foremost and that in turn will serve your enterprise a lot better.

“There are programmes that we know work, whether it’s engaging in health check or lifestyle intervention programmes, so I’d certainly encourage and really welcome the scaling up of those programmes with funding whether it’s from partnerships or the HSE.”

The latest study ‘Investigating the Dietary Habits of Male Irish Farmers to Prevent Mortality and Morbidity’ – involving NCMH, WIT, UCD and Teagasc – will be published later this summer.