The INDEPENDENT, January 21, 2010
Do you know this quilt’s history? Judges needed
for VHS projects
A few weeks ago this lovely
old feathered star quilt (red star
on white background) was left
at the Vernonia Senior Center.
The quilters at the Center
would appreciate learning
more about this quilt and its
history.
If you can help, please call
Sue at 503-429-7014.
Community members are
needed as judges for the Ver-
nonia High School class of
2010 Senior Career-Related
Learning Experience presenta-
tions, scheduled for March 31.
Judges will be asked to come
to Vernonia High School library
on Wednesday evening (March
31) for a short orientation, view
seniors physical projects, enjoy
light snacks, spend about two
hours listening to presentations
and, after each speech, com-
plete an evaluation of the stu-
dent’s speech.
If interested, please contact
Rachel Wilcoxen at Vernonia
High School at 503-429-3521,
ext. 2019 or email her at
rwilcoxen@vernonia.k12.or.us
Page 7
Senior News
Good news for ice cream lovers: On the last Wednesday of
each month, there will be free ice cream after lunch.
There’s good news for bargain hunters, too: Next week, Janu-
ary 25-29, is Half-Price Week in the Thrift Shop!
Other programs and events are on the calendar, too, as the
schedule develops for a new year.
Join us at lunch on Friday, January 29, to share the Birthday
celebration for all of our members with January birthdays. Lunch
is served Monday through Friday at noon. A $3.00 donation is
suggested for those 60 and older, and $4.00 for those under 60.
Get your blood pressure checked, free, from 11 a.m. to noon
on the 4th Wednesday of each month.
Free hearing checks will be performed by a representative from
Columbia Hearing Aids on Monday, February 8. Please call the
Center at 503-429-3912 for an appointment.
Don’t forget the great breakfasts on Fridays at the Senior Cen-
ter, from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. Breakfasts are open to everyone for
just $3.50 per person. Not ready for breakfast? How about a
maple bar? They’re made fresh daily for $1.00 each! If you want
enough for a gathering of any kind, call 503-429-3912 a day or
two ahead and place your order.
Vernonia Senior Center is open Monday through Friday from 10
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If you haven’t been in for a while, or if you’re new
in the area, drop by, say “hello”, and see what’s on the schedule.
Study finds every hour in front of television increases risk to heart
Couch potatoes beware:
every hour of television
watched per day may increase
the risk of dying earlier from
cardiovascular disease, ac-
cording to research reported in
Circulation: Journal of the
American Heart Association.
Australian
researchers
tracked the lifestyle habits of
8,800 adults and found that
each hour spent in front of the
television daily was associated
with:
• an 11 percent increased
risk of death from all causes,
• a 9 percent increased risk
of cancer death; and
• an 18 percent increased
risk of cardiovascular disease
(CVD)-related death.
Compared with people who
watched less than two hours of
television daily, those who
watched more than four hours
a day had a 46 percent higher
risk of death from all causes
and an 80 percent increased
risk for CVD-related death. This
association held regardless of
other independent and com-
mon cardiovascular disease
risk factors, including smoking,
high blood pressure, high blood
cholesterol, unhealthy diet, ex-
cessive waist circumference,
and leisure-time exercises.
While the study focused
specifically on television watch-
ing, the findings suggest that
any prolonged sedentary be-
havior, such as sitting at a desk
or in front of a computer, may
pose a risk to one’s health. The
human body was designed to
move, not sit for extended peri-
ods of time, said David Dun-
stan, Ph.D., the study’s lead
author and professor and head
of the Physical Activity Labora-
tory in the Division of Metabo-
lism and Obesity at the Baker
IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
in Victoria, Australia.
Dunstan said the findings
apply not only to individuals
who are overweight and obese,
but also those who have a
healthy weight. “Even if some-
one has a healthy body weight,
sitting for long periods of time
still has an unhealthy influence
on their blood sugar and blood
fats,” he said.
Although the study was con-
ducted in Australia, Dunstan
said the findings are certainly
applicable to Americans. Aver-
age daily television watching is
approximately three hours in
Australia and the United King-
dom, and up to eight hours in
the United States, where two-
thirds of all adults are either
overweight or obese.
The benefits of exercise
have been long established,
but researchers wanted to
know what happens when peo-
ple sit too much. Television-
watching is the most common
sedentary activity carried out in
the home.
Researchers
interviewed
3,846 men and 4,954 women
age 25 and older who under-
went oral glucose-tolerance
tests and provided blood sam-
ples so researchers could
measure biomarkers such as
cholesterol and blood sugar
levels. Participants were en-
rolled from 1999–2000 and fol-
lowed through 2006. They re-
ported their television-viewing
habits for the previous seven
days and were grouped into
one of three categories: those
who watched less than two
hours per day; those who
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watched between two and four
hours daily; and those who
watched more than four hours.
People with a history of CVD
were excluded from the study.
During the more than six-year
follow-up, there were 284
deaths – 87 due to CVD and
125 due to cancer.
The association between
cancer and television viewing
was only modest, researchers
reported. However, there was a
direct association between the
amount of television watched
and elevated CVD death, as
well as death from all causes,
even after accounting for typi-
cal CVD risk factors and other
lifestyle factors.
The implications are simple,
Dunstan said. “In addition to
doing regular exercise, avoid
sitting for prolonged periods
and keep in mind to ‘move
more, more often’. Too much
sitting is bad for health.”
Co-authors are: E.L.M. Barr,
Ph.D.; G.N. Healy, Ph.D.; J.
Salmon, Ph.D.; J.E. Shaw,
M.D.; B. Balkau, Ph.D.; D.J.
Magliano, Ph.D.; A.J. Cameron,
Ph.D.; P.Z. Zimmet, Ph.D. and
N. Owen, Ph.D.
May God love you, when you do not feel loved;
help you love others, when you do not feel capable.
Protect your mind, when it is invaded or it needs protection;
protect your body and soul, when you feel unsafe and vulnerable.
Virtually hug you, when you need affection;
direct you, when you feel aimless.
Give you answers, when you have questions;
give you peace, when you are in turmoil.
Sustain you, when you need sustenance;
mend you, when you are broken.
Heal you, when you feel unhealthy;
comfort you, when you are uncomfortable.
Fill you, when you empty;
guide you, when you are lost.
Keep you, when you feel unkempt;
fulfill you, when you need purpose.
Satisfy you, when you are unsatisfied and
bless you now and forever.
Lee Anne Krause
Independent Senior Consultant for Pampered Chef
503-816-9810 leeannekrause@gmail.com