Don’t be bored, stand up and paddle
It’s not every day that the majority of people get the opportunity to take part in stand-up paddle boarding. In one-hour sessions, participants will learn paddle boarding skills, enjoy a trip down the canal in Vicarstown, Co. Laois. Instructors will take participants through some basic skills.
There are two time slots: 11am-12pm and 1-2pm.
No experience is required and all equipment is provided. Wet suites won’t be available but attendees can bring their own, however they are not essential.
Those interested are asked to wear old clothes and runners and to bring their own towel, water bottle and spare clothes. Due to the current pandemic changing facilities and toilets can’t be provided according to organisers, the SVT Activity and Wellness HUB, who will be adhering strictly to Government guidelines. They ask people to arrive 15 minutes before the session for registration. Tickets can be purchased here.
Physical stress in job linked with memory decline
A new US study has found that physical stress in a person’s job may be associated with faster brain aging and poorer memory.
Aga Burzynska, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in Colorado State University, and her research team connected occupational survey responses with brain-imaging data from 99 cognitively normal older adults, age 60 to 79.
They found that those who reported high levels of physical stress in their most recent job had smaller volumes in the hippocampus and performed poorer on memory tasks. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is critical for memory and is affected in both normal aging and in dementia. Their findings were published this summer in Frontiers.
“We know that stress can accelerate physical aging and is the risk factor for many chronic illnesses,” Ms Burzynska said. “But this is the first evidence that occupational stress can accelerate brain and cognitive aging.”
Tall children more likely to become obese – study
Children who are relatively tall for their age have a higher risk of developing obesity, according to a new study.
Investigators examined the health records of 2.8 million children who were initially examined between two and 13 years of age.
When they were re-examined, an average of four years later (but up to 13 years later), it was found that taller children were more likely to have a higher body mass index than shorter children.
Among the thinnest children at the start, the prevalence of obesity at the second exam was five-fold higher in the tallest children than in the shortest children (3.1% versus 0.6%).
“As about half of this association is independent of the initial body mass index of the child, the use of height may be a simple way to more accurately classify which children will become obese,” said lead author David Freedman, PhD, of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
