By Kate Scroggins
Perry Tsergas is feeling lighter these days.
The Parliament Hill staffer lost 30 pounds this summer: a result of his vacation from politics and some time away from the unhealthy diet of a politico.
Tsergas, who worked for former minister of labour Joe Fontana for more than two years and now works for Liberal MP Andy Scott, says the long hours and commitment required by Hill staffers makes healthy eating difficult.
“A lot of times you’re not eating breakfast,” he says. “You’re running down to the West Block cafeteria at 2 p.m. when the members are in question period. All you can think about is satiating your hunger, which has been building all day. This, of course, forces you to make unhealthy eating decisions.”
Tsergas says that the challenges to healthy eating continue even when his workday ends at six or seven when MPs and their staff head to receptions where the tables groan with fattening food and alcohol flows freely.
Before Tsergas shed his additional pounds, his favourite reception was the one hosted by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
“They have the most tender red meat,” he says.
For many MPs, unhealthy eating habits on the Hill are a growing concern. Overweight MPs appear on television interviews or during question period setting a poor example for Canadians. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s growing waistline has been criticized by the media.
To address these concerns food services on the Hill have added low fat and low sodium menu choices in the past couple years and last month began serving smaller portions of food in the Hill’s cafeteria and central restaurant. The menu at the posh parliamentary restaurant and the cafeterias is now 50 per cent heart-healthy.
Despite these healthier options, some MPs still allow time constraints and stress to determine their menu choices.
Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla says it is especially difficult to get a good meal on the Hill in the evenings. The cafeteria in the West Block of Parliament, where her office is located, stops serving food at 2:30 p.m.
Dhalla is forced to order unhealthy takeout such as pizza once or twice a week. She tries to keep her office stocked with granola bars and fresh fruit as healthy alternatives to chips and french fries.
Liberal health critic Robert Thibault says that while healthy choices are available on the Hill, MPs are often too busy to take advantage of them.
“I didn’t have time for lunch today,” he says. “My first interview was at 6:45 a.m. so I didn’t have breakfast. For dinner I’ll probably have a hot dog or a hamburger.”
Even more difficult for Thibault is the commute to his riding in western Nova Scotia. Each week he takes a two-hour flight to Halifax and then drives for three hours to his home in Clare, Nova Scotia. For Thibault, dinner on the long trip consists of a coffee and a muffin.
Nathan Cullen, a New Democrat MP from northern British Columbia, spends 14 hours in flight each week to make it home. He relies on the plane food or whatever is quick and easy in the airport.
Cullen says he has noticed an improvement in the healthy options available at the Hill cafeteria, but still describes his diet as “terrible” and blames lack of time. For Cullen, food just isn’t a top priority.
“You eat inconsistently; you eat late. Because I’m a West Coast MP my body clock has no idea what time I’m eating any of my meals, if I’m eating them at all,” he says. “It reminds me of college.”
But Cullen is one of the few MPs who take advantage of the free gym. He also swims laps at a university pool every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
Some MPs and staffers are taking it upon themselves to find personal ways of fitting a healthy lifestyle into their busy schedule.
Theresa Kavanagh, a staffer in NDP member Yvon Godin’s office, organizes a morning running clinic every spring.
Kavanagh just completed her second Iron Man championship. She helps willing MPs, staffers and journalists from the press gallery prepare for a five-kilometre race in May.
“I know how hard it is for people to get started on a program,” she says. “Everyone is so busy, so I try and make exercise accessible.”
Among her pupils this past spring were former NDP leader Alexa McDonough and CTV Ottawa Deputy Bureau Chief Rosemary Thompson.
As for formal changes on the Hill, Cullen says he would like to see a lighter parliamentary schedule to accommodate Western MPs, who tend to burn out more quickly than those from central Ontario.
Parliamentarians’ waistlines affect their health, but also their image as role models for Canadians, Cullen says.
“Leaders need to be examples in lots of different ways – and one of those ways is the way we carry our health,” he says.
“You see grossly overweight people, who are smoking too much or drinking too much and they’re our national leaders; I think that’s a bit of an embarrassment.”