Under the microscope
Singer and TV personality Peter Andre, 51, answers our health quiz
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?
YES! Staying active is great for me mentally and physically — and means I can eat more of what I like. Back in the 1990s, I trained to look a certain way [with a six-pack] when I was touring and partying. Now I do it to feel good. I’ve been doing a form of highintensity interval training since I was 16. Now that I’ve got five children [his wife Emily gave birth to a girl last week], I have to take better care of myself. I was brought down to earth by my seven-year-old son, Theo, the other day who declared, ‘Dad, you used to have abs!’
GET YOUR FIVE-A-DAY?
ABSOLUTELY, my main joy in life after my family is food. But if I had to watch everything I eat, how miserable would I be? I follow an ‘it’s fine’ diet — as in everything is fine. If I pig out one day, I just eat a little less the next. Given Emily’s long hours as an NHS doctor, I do most of the cooking at home.
ANY VICES?
CHOCOLATE! And at 4pm, I’ll have a coffee and a cake or pastry. Every day is a cheat day for me.
ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?
MY MUM Thea is 87 and sadly has Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. I worry every day because it’s so cruel. She lives on the Gold Coast in Australia with my dad, who’s 90. It was difficult to leave them in October when I visited. High blood pressure and cholesterol run in my family.
WORST ILLNESS/INJURY?
I HAD meningitis in 2006, and in 2010 I had kidney stones that required surgery. My wife’s dad was my surgeon, so I can thank him for meeting her!
POP ANY PILLS?
ONLY a liquid multivitamin with collagen for skin health, and vitamin D because low levels are linked to depression and anxiety.
EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?
I HAD my nose done [in my 20s] as I was self-conscious about it.
COPE WELL WITH PAIN?
I’M A complete wuss.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?
I HAD serious mental health problems in the 1990s at the peak of my fame, so I dropped out of public life for treatment. It was a horrific time. Therapy and medication gave me relief.
HANGOVER CURE?
BLACK coffee!
LIKE TO LIVE FOREVER?
MAYBE it’s my religious upbringing [Catholic], but I like the idea of living forever.