Health Scan: Nessa Childers, Labour MEP

Do you think you have a healthy lifestyle?

Reasonably healthy, but it used to be healthier before I entered politics. There is a lot of travelling and I’m constantly inside an office building.

How often do you exercise?

I’ve had to make time for exercise; I walk for at least an hour a day. I was a climber. I’ve climbed most of the way up Mt Blanc but now it’s too painful on my knees. If you were to look at all 700 MEPs in the chamber, they are definitely healthier than our national politicians. There is something about the Irish political lifestyle that’s very dysfunctional. They think they have to be at every event imaginable.

Do you get your five a day?

Yes, I do. That’s where things are healthier in Brussels; you don’t get easy access to fast food. The food in the canteen of the European Parliament is excellent. I don’t eat red meat because it doesn’t agree with me and I eat a lot of vegetables, fish and sushi. I take a fish oil supplement too.

Do you worry?

Yes, I am something of a worrier. I’ve only been a politician for a few years. I was a psychotherapist before that.

Many psychotherapists, because they have to think about what’s in their own minds, tend to dwell on things, so yes, I’m something of a worrier. It’s usually about politics, things that are going on in my own party. There is nothing else that worries me.

What do you do to relax?

I walk. There is a serious genetic history of heart disease in my family so I have to do more than most to flatten out the risk. Also, I try to extricate myself from the huge amount of noise around me in my working day so I go read books or find silence. But it doesn’t always work in politics.

What’s your unhealthiest habit?

I don’t eat chocolate or smoke. I’m what you would describe as plump . . . but if you are fit and fat, you are well on the way to being healthy anyway. We have to get real about what body types we have.