Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET Put Down the Paper and Take a Walk by MARGARET DICKSON Compared to 10 years ago, I spend more time in front of my computer screen. Where do I do that? In various offi ces and at home, but always sitting in a chair. That means that like many people, I am probably less active when I am working than I once was, and I am certainly less active at work than are people who have jobs that require them to move around and absolutely less active than people whose jobs require physical labor. Add to this the reality that I drive to work instead of walking or biking, and it becomes obvious that moving around, once such an ordinary part of life, now takes some planning and effort for many of us. The benefi t of such effort for our hearts is clearly worth it, according to a new study released last month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which found that a relatively active working style protects our hearts just as regular sessions at the gym do. I have always loved the crowd scenes of people walking along the streets of New York or some other urban area. Some are moving quickly, almost trotting or running, and others are ambling along taking in the city sights. Turns out, they are also exercising and giving their hearts a little extra protection against the risk of heart failure. Ditto for folks riding their bikes to work on a regular basis. Commuters who walk or bike to work may do so to avoid traffi c and parking hassles, but they are also giving their hearts an edge that we drivers may not be getting. The new study looked at almost 58,000 Finnish men and women between 25 and 74, a group which includes most of us. What it found is that men who are moderately active at work are 10 percent less likely to develop heart failure. The news is even better for women who are moderately active at work — our number is 20 percent. No surprise here, these fi gures get even more impressive if we walk or bike to work and if we are involved in physical activities during our leisure time as well. So what are the various activity levels? Low activity at work is most often an offi ce job, one where we are sitting most of the day. Combine that, as many of us do, with a low-activity commute such as our cars or some form of public transit like a bus or train, and you get the picture. Moderate activity at work means a job that involves some sustained physical effort such as waiting tables or clerking in a store. If those people also The Diviners Opens Theatre Season at FSU by JHANA M. LEWIS I once read a book long ago that told all about the fi ve Chinese elements of wood, water, fi re, metal and earth, and how if you had too little or not enough of any of these you would end up with either a very fl ourishing, fulfi lling life or a very sad and tragic one. I never understood this theory until I heard about The Diviners. The Diviners, presented by Fayetteville State University, is a winner of the American College Theatre Festival. Its main character Buddy’s life is intertwined with the element of water. As a child, he lost his mother and almost his own life in it, and as a result was left both partially brain damaged and terrifi ed of the water. He still manages to be an invaluable part of his farming community because he has the ability to divine, that is to be able to determine where water is without the use of scientifi c instruments. He is befriended by a preacher who while traveling through the town, takes an interest in him and his gift. The dissatisfi ed preacher is struggling with the fact that, while he comes from a long line of preachers, this may not be what he necessarily wants to do. This decision is made even more diffi cult because the WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM women in town feel he would fi t the bill for their church. The story takes a strange twist when Buddy contracts ringworm and the preacher persuades him to bathe in the river. An event that doesn’t end well for Buddy. Despite the tragic ending, Theater Director Phoebe Hall assures me that this play is not all about tragedy, but also about love, friendship and fi nding one’s own place in the world. “There is even a bit of comedy,” Hall noted. “There is something for everyone to enjoy. The actors worked really hard to make this a production that everyone will come away from with something.” Tickets are $2 for students with a valid ID prior to curtain time; $3 for children, $8 for staff, faculty and senior citizens and $10 for adults.For more information, call 672-1006 or 672- 1724 for reservations. JHANA M. LEWIS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. OCTOBER 6-12, 2010 UCW 5 walk or bike to work for up to 29 minutes, they are giving their hearts some additional protection we sitters are not getting. High levels of activity at work include just what we might think, manual labor that involves walking and lifting in either an industrial or agricultural environment. If those folks also get to their jobs under their own physical steam, so much the better for them. Now, we all know that life is different for us in the 21st century than it was for our farming ancestors in the 19th century and for our industrial forebearers in the 20th. It is simply not realistic for many of us today to walk miles to work or to get up and do jumping jacks beside our computer terminals. We are busying dropping the children off at school and popping into the grocery store, and our coworkers, not to mention our bosses, might not take kindly to a workout session in the offi ce. What this study also tells us, though, is that a combination of physical activities, both at work and in our leisure time, is benefi cial. No way on earth to travel those 10 miles to your workplace than in your own vehicle? Then drive, and take a walk during your lunch hour. This takes some planning and adjusting your routine, but it is doable. Think people in business clothes and walking shoes chatting as they hoof it around town. Don’t forget the stairs either. They can be a part of our offi ce exercise routines. Many of us could benefi t from a re-think of our leisure time as well. If our weekends involve stretches of time watching sports on TV or doing the web surfi ng our jobs do not allow, that may be fi ne. But we also need to build in some moderate activity — walking, biking, gardening. Vigorous physical activity, for those of us inclined, includes these as well as others like jogging, swimming and competitive sports for more than three hours a week. And there is always the gym. The point of this and other such studies seem to be simply this. While our work styles and our lifestyles have changed over time, our bodies have not. Our human bodies still need to be used in movement and action, and they do not work as well when they are not. So put down this paper and take a walk! MARGARET DICKSON, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com.