THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
FRIDAY APRIL 29
FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2009
NEWS
3A
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Studies say that people who walk between 30 and 60 minutes a day will live longer than those who don't. A pedometer can help measure steps walked in a day.
Four myths for long life contain truth
HEALTH
Two experts debate health facts & fiction
BY MICOLE ARONOWITZ
maronowitz@kansan.com
Staving healthy can be confusing. So many food and lifestyle plans exist, from organic to low-sodium to low-carb, that it can be hard to separate myth from reality. Lynn Marotz, assistant professor in the applied behavioral science department, and Anne Chapman, coordinator of nutrition services at Watkins Memorial Health Center, discuss the fact and fiction in these four health myths.
Myth 1: Drinking tea lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Marotz said as far as the studies are concerned, this claim is still pretty controversial. She said there was not a good consensus about the benefits of tea.
ous about that, they should go to a place that sells loose tea leaves," Marotz said. "They have to learn how to brew it themselves, the right way, in order to get the benefit out of it."
"All teas - white tea, black tea and green tea - all have some kind of antioxidant properties," Chapman said.
Chapman said there were antioxidants found in teas that do protect the heart.
the puppets in his studio.
According to the article "surprising Signs You'll Live Longer Than You Think," on msn.com, people who walk for about 30 minutes a day are more likely to live longer than those who walk less.
Lott said he always wanted to be a puppeteer, becoming interested in it from watching "too much Sesame Street." He started making his own puppets in fifth grade by converting stuffed animals into puppets.
Myth 2: Walking at least thirty minutes a dave keeps you fit.
Chapman said it was important to walk between 30 and 60 minutes a day.
"If a person were really seri-
roughly five miles, a day, Marotz said. Participants wore a pedometer to keep track of how many steps they took each day.
"It reduces your risk for disease and promotes longevity and reduces stress," Chapman said.
"Its an easy way to exercise," Marotz said. "The idea is to keep moving. Studies have shown that people who walk more tend to live longer."
The same article said these foods get their rich color from polyphenols, which reduce heart disease risk and may also protect against Alzheimer's disease.
PUPPETS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Myth 3: Eating purple foods such as grapes and blueberries keeps your blood vessels healthy.
One national campaign called for people to walk 10,000 steps.
"They are all equally important," Marotz said. "The problem with pulling one out, and saying this is what you need to eat more of, is that you miss out on all of the rest."
Since then, he has made literally
hundreds of puppets. Depending on the complexity, it can take Lott anywhere from a few hours to hundreds of hours to make one puppet.
Marotz disagrees with this claim.
She said there was no superfood.
She said eating a diet that was colorful was key to getting all the vitamins and minerals needed.
tial to eat a variety of foods.
Chapman also said it was essen-
According to a Harvard Medical School study, people with more than 12 years of formal education live 18 months longer on average than those with fewer years of schooling. Researchers hypothesize that this is because people with more education are less likely to smoke.
Myth 4: Staying in school will help you live longer.
"One of the recommendations is to eat a rainbow of foods," Chapman said.
"They're never really done," he said. "I just get tired of working on them to a certain point and then I move on."
Chapman said that education is power.
"The more educated people are, the more apt they are to make healthy decisions." Chapman said.
When Lott and his roommates were looking for a place to live, Lott said having a room for his puppets was a must. Lott pays twice the rent he pays for one room for himself
Marotz said all people make bad decisions now and then. But she said it helps to surround yourself with people who do positive things, and that people with more education make more informed decisions.
- Edited by Justin Leverett
- he pays for one room for himself
and one room for his puppets
"It's kind of absurd," he said. "But this is my passion and this is how I pay for rent, building puppets and doing shows, it's totally worth it."
Matt Cain, Leawood junior and Lott's roommate, said Lott was "spontaneous" and kept the house entertaining with his puppeteering and acting antics.
"He goes around doing different voices sometimes." Cain said.
But for Lott, the different voices
of characters are only one part of the creative process. He has presented other shows for libraries, schools and has held local workshops for children or interested students.
Two years ago, Lott was also one of 50 people chosen from the United States and Canada to attend a workshop with Sesame Street "muppeteers." Last semester, he designed the puppets for "The King Stag," a production by the University of Kansas Theatre for Young People.
He is currently creating two puppets — a depressed Russian horse and a Japanese bamboo spirit — for three one-act operas that KU Opera will perform later this month.
When he graduates next May, Lott said he wanted to do a national tour like "Sesame Street Live" or "Walking with Dinosaurs" before possibly attending the University of Connecticut, which has a master's program in puppetry.
ating puppets and sharing his work with others. Lott said pupeteers are not like magicians, who might spend 20 years working on a trick and keep the secret of the trick from their audiences.
"Puppeteers are like 'It's taken me 20 years to learn this trick and I'm going to give it to you the first time I meet you so that you can take it and make it better," he said.
For now, Lott plans to keep cre-
AMBLER
(CONTINUED FROM 1A)
online. Stanley said he got the idea for the project when his friend, a graduate in health, sports and exercise science, mentioned starting a gym that provided its own power for the building. Stanley said the idea stuck with him and he started researching possibilities. When he found ReRevcom, he started
Edited by Sam Speer
working with the company and the director of the recreation center. Mary Chappell, to bring the technology to the University.
Stanley presented the idea to Envision presidential candidate J.J. Siler and vice president candidate Alex Porte for support.
"There was a lot of enthusiasm, and I knew it was something a large amount of people could get excited about," Stanley said.
Porte, Great Falls, Va., junior,
envision Epson for the idea
for a long time, and was proud when the funding came through
"This is something we brought to the student body and it's important that we got it done," Porte said. "We just happened to get it done before we were elected."
Porte said though Envision helped make the project a reality, Stanley was the driving force behind the operation.
"We kind of put him on our shoulders and gave him our full support," Porte said. "He's really
the one who followed it through from concept to reality."
Stanley said he worked with engineering and architectural students to figure out blueprints of the building and gather other information ReRev would need to submit a proposal to the University.
building's blueprints.
Silvia Reshmeen, Dhaka, Bangladesh graduate student in architectural engineering, met Stanley through Engineers Without Borders and helped him acquire the
Stanley said he thought the project would be a good way for sustainability efforts to be linked directly to the University.
"We have good ideas and everyone talks about sustainability, but I haven't seen a lot of new things coming from it," Stanley said. "I thought this would be a good opportunity for something to come of it. We could show we're really committed, and not just talking about it."
The elliptical machines will be equipped with LCD boards to show students how much energy they are putting back into the building. Stanley thought the boards would prove important in getting student attention for the project.
"Maybe they're not traditionally thinking about energy, but they're seeing it in front of their faces so hopefully we can spark a dialogue that way," Stanley said.
GEORGE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
"I'm really hoping a lot more students will submit some so we have a great number to choose from and we can get him to talk about what students really want to hear from," Saunders said.
Before Stephanopoulos speaks at the Kansas Union, he plans to stop at the Lawrence Community Shelter to visit an old friend.
- Edited by Justin Leverett
Loring Henderson, executive director of the shelter, volunteered at a soup kitchen in Washington D.C. with Stephanopoulos for about ten years. Their friendship has lasted 27 years and it was Henderson's idea to ask Stephanopoulos to visit Lawrence and speak at the Kansas Union.
"He's a friend and it's nice to have him out here anyway just to see what I'm doing." Henderson said. "We're getting ready to at some point launch a capital campaign and move to a bigger shelter, so having him come here to raise awareness about the situation as a whole just seemed like a good idea."
After taking a tour and spending time with people in the shelter, Stephanpoulos is expected to discuss the rising numbers of homeless people and what can be done about it, Saunders said.
— Edited by Liz Schubauer
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