Have Your Cake and Burn Those Calories
We each have a special love for certain foods: for some, chocolates; others
love ice cream, and others crave a big, fat juicy steak. Unfortunately, our favorites
are usually packed with calories as well as flavor. Fortunately, we have plenty of
opportunities to burn those calories through exercise at the Oasis, numerous exercise
classes, and great walking paths indoors or outdoors. Here are a few helpful ideas to
burn off your favorite treat and improve your strength and endurance and balance.
To use up the calories from a blueberry muffin (270 calories), participate in a water aerobics class (281
calories burned). Don’t feel guilty for eating that Snickers Bar (280 calories); ride the stationary bike for 30
minutes. Take the dog for a 30 minute walk and enjoy a couple of Oreo cookies. Treat yourself to that small
slice of chocolate cake (230 calories) and step onto our new treadmill to burn off about half the calories in a
half hour. Refer to the helpful chart below for more ideas to burn calories.
If you haven’t seen our new treadmill, the TRUE PS900 yet, you’ll be glad to know it has several
new features to make your exercise program more effective. Specific programs can be selected to help with
calorie burn/weight loss, strength and endurance, reaching appropriate heart rates, or just basic walking.
Come check out our newest piece of equipment in the Oasis.
Balance your caloric intake with your exercise program and you can have your cake and eat it, too.
Calories Burned with Exercise
Activity, Exercise or Sport (1 hour)
130
lb
155
lb
180
lb
205
lb
Stationary cycling, light
325
387
449
512
Stationary cycling, moderate
413
493
572
651
Walking the dog
177
211
245
279
Walking, under 2.0 mph, very slow
118
141
163
186
Walking 2.0 mph, slow
148
176
204
233
Walking 2.5 mph
177
211
245
279
Walking 3.0 mph, moderate
195
232
270
307
Aerobics, low impact
295
352
409
465
Water aerobics
236
281
327
372
Water jogging
472
563
654
745
Calculations are based on research data from
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
the official journal of the
American College of Sports Medicine.
• 16 •
February 2013
February 2013
• 17 •
Kirby Pines Wellness Series - Part I
Discover The Oasis
Part I: Keeping the Keys
Vision Changes
Ninety percent of the information used in driving
comes through the eye. With aging, several changes may
occur that can affect driving.
Dynamic Visual Acuity
Dynamic visual acuity is the ability to see a moving
object. With age, this ability may decline, especially under
low-light conditions like evening. For example, you are
driving at dusk and it begins to rain. A pedestrian steps off
the curb 50 feet in front of you, moving slowly. You have
difficulty seeing the person until you are only a few feet away.
Depth Perception
Depth perception is the
ability to determine the distance
of objects. With age, changes in
the lenses of the eyes decrease
the ability to accurately determine
distances between two objects.
Older drivers tend to use the
distance of the approaching vehicle,
rather than its speed, to determine
safe turning, lane changing, or
merging.
Useful Field of View
The “useful field of view”
refers to the area that one can
use and cognitively process and
interpret. With cognitive slowing,
the area shrinks to only the area a
person sees directly in front of the
eyes without the side vision, called
peripheral vision. Drivers with decreased visual attention
can only see the car directly in front and not the pedestrian
stepping from the curb. Drivers can adapt to reduced useful
field of vision through retraining by an occupational therapist.
Contrast Sensitivity
The capacity to sharply see the difference between
two similarly colored objects indicates the ability to perceive
contrast. With age, older adults may develop cataracts, which
change perception of color and background. When driving,
the inability to see the difference in contrast affects distance
judgment. Drivers may have difficulty in determining distance
to an object resulting in “tailgating” or hitting a curb. Other
examples include the ability to see objects lying in the road
that are a similar color to the pavement, faded highway lane
markers or pedestrians in dark clothing at night.
Perceptual Reaction Time (PRT)
This refers to the speed with which the driver can
process visual information. As one ages, this interaction
between the eye and brain’s ability to recognize what it sees
is reduced. Good perceptual reaction time is critical to seeing
hazards and recognizing wanting signs in a timely manner.
Glare Recovery
Glare occurs when the brightness of an object
approaches us faster than our eyes can accommodate or the
eye’s abilities ability to focus incoming light diminishes. With,
age, the eyes’ lens hardens, thereby increasing the amount of
“
stray” light entering the eye. This light scatters causing the
appearance of “dazzling bright spots.” Resistance to glare
declines by 50% every 12 years after age 40.
Time to recover from glare also
increases with age. Glare affects
driving by momentarily blinding
the driver. Glare from oncoming
headlights at night requires quick
recovery to maintain the course of
the car.
Peripheral Vision
Peripheral vision is the ability
to see objects to the side when the
eyes are focused forward, with age,
the range of side vision decreases.
For example, many older
people report that, all of a sudden,
a car whizzed past or a vehicle
from another lane pulled in front of
them. Reduced peripheral vision,
which becomes more pronounced
with age, results in “blind spots.”
Blind spots are areas around the
car where it is difficult to see objects.
Light/Dark Adaptation
Light and dark adaptations refer to the ease with
which the eye can adjust to changes from dark to dim lighting
to bright areas. Adaptation diminishes with age as the eye
muscles become less elastic. For example, many older drivers
have difficulty seeing when entering or leaving a tunnel.
If you feel that you or someone you know is
experiencing difficulty with driving or changes in their
vision as it relates to another area of their life, please call
Jason Sparrow OTD, OTR/L at 366-1819 to arrange a vision
screening.
