Rivals engage in healthy competition

Labour MP Trevor Mallard may have lost his latest battle with Hutt Valley rival Chris Bishop, but he insists this one was an unfair fight.

Hutt South MP Mallard went head-to-head with National list MP Bishop on Tuesday, to find out who had the healthier blood pressure in the leadup to Saturday’s Big NZ Blood Pressure Check.

Though his result was well inside the healthy range, Mallard narrowly came out on the wrong side of the ledger in the showdown at Petone’s Go Bang Cafe, with Bishop’s 118/76 reading edging Mallard’s 126/82.

Mallard had reason to feel aggrieved, given his 62 years are almost double his rival’s 33.

‘‘I’m not satisfied [with the reading],’’ he said afterwards.

‘‘It’s higher than it’s been for some time, and that’s probably as a result of the fact that I’m a bit overweight and also had to move quickly up the road to get here.

‘‘Anything competitive on a

The figures

About 9000 people have a stroke in NewZealand every year. That’s roughly one an hour every day.

Strokes kill about 2500 people each year, second only to heart disease and cancer.

In 2009, it was estimated strokes cost the country more than $450 million every year.

It’s estimated the number of strokes every year could be halved if people made better lifestyle choices around diet, exercise, alcohol and smoking.

There are 60,000 stroke survivors in NewZealand. local basis, I’m always nervous. It’s quite hard – especially when your competitor’s half your age.’’

But the battle was all in good fun. High blood pressure is a leading cause of strokes in New Zealand and Mallard, a keen cyclist, said it was important people had their health checked as often as possible.

Bishop, who turned 33 this month, said the politician’s lifestyle made it difficult to stay fit and healthy, because of the long and irregular hours of work.

He and wife Jenna Raeburn had not eaten dinner at home together since early August, and convenience meals on the run often led to less than ideal choices, he said.

‘‘I’m happy with my reading. I don’t actually lead the healthiest of lifestyles as an MP.

‘‘I try and work on that all the time but I’m pretty happy with my reading, given my lifestyle.’’

Bishop, who went running and swimming for exercise, said his family had a history of high blood pressure so it was important his was checked regularly.

Paramedic Kate Worthington said neither man had anything to worry about. Their readings were both ‘‘excellent’’.

She encouraged people to get their blood pressure checked by a GP every six months, especially if they were over 35.

The Big NZ Blood Pressure Check was in its eighth year.