Farm consultant Ian Handcock encourages farmers to get off their quad bikes and mountain bike the farm more often.

Irish farmers are seven times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than other occupations, and the same could be true for their New Zealand counterparts, the Heart Foundation says.

In a study last year, almost 8 out of 10 Irish farmers were found to have four or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and being overweight.

Just because farming appears to be a physical occupation, does not mean that farmers are fit, Heart Foundation head of marketing, Darren Hopper, says.

"With the use of quad bikes and other technology, farmers are becoming less active."

Add to that poor diet and stress, and it was likely Kiwi farmers' health differed little from that of the Irish, although he stressed there were no figures to back up the claim.

Waikato farm consultant Ian Handcock said to be a good farmer took good fitness.

"The guys who are fit and healthy make decisions quicker, have less stress, less anxiety and their days are planned quicker," he said.

Hopper said many farmers were potentially at increased risk of stress, depression and anxiety, due to negative cash flows and rising debt levels.

"Because of their rural location they are not likely to visit GPs regularly, and the males aren't the types of guys who visit doctors. At Fieldays it's the wife who drags the reluctant husband along," Hopper said.

Heart disease is New Zealand's biggest killer. It is not just a male issue as women are 4.6 times more likely to die of heart disease than they are of breast cancer.

Hopper said there were four specific symptoms: chest discomfort, nausea, sweatiness and shortness of breath.

He said farm diets were not as healthy as they could be.

"There's not a lot of green, they are meat and carbohydrate heavy."

Although they were not generally heavy smokers, some farmers drank more than what was recommended.

Long-term stress meant that a person could have higher levels of adrenaline in their body, which could lead to raised blood pressure and potentially place them at increased risk of heart disease and a heart attack.

Federated Farmers health and safety spokeswoman Katie Milne said she thought New Zealanders' diets might be better than Irish.

Farmer ageing was an issue, with the average age of a sheep and beef farmer 58 years, so that could also be a factor in ill health.

Farmers attending this week's Fieldays can receive a free blood pressure check and information about heart health at the Foundation's stand.

The main findings of the Irish research undertaken by Carlow Institute of Technology:

- The majority (82.1 per cent) of farmers reported a family history of heart disease and/or stroke or diabetes.

- Combining blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol and BMI and waist measurement, and self-reported health outcomes (smoking, physical inactivity, stress) the majority (80.7 per cent) of famers had four or more CVD risk factors.

- Almost half of farmers (46.0 per cent) had high blood pressure.

- Almost half of farmers (46.1 per cent) had raised total cholesterol levels.

- The vast majority of participating farmers were found to be overweight or obese. Based on BMI measurements, 86.4 per cent of farmers were classified as overweight, and of those, 35.6 per cent were classified as obese.