Most of you that come down to the Mower County Senior Center know that I have spent the last couple of years working on my weight. I have been fortunate and focused on being a healthy weight and have lost about a third of my total weight.

Research suggests that maintaining a healthy weight is critically important to reduce the risk for such chronic health problems as heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis, among others. This can be accomplished through eating a healthy diet and regular exercise. Other steps that can help with good health as people age include maintaining good sleep patterns, abstaining from smoking and staying socially active with friends and family and involved in the community.

Even though these may not be things you concentrated on when you were younger it doesn’t mean it isn’t just as important today. If you start exercising regular and eating right even though you may not be young any more you still can maintain better health than if you don’t take care of yourself.

Mental health problems also become more prevalent as people grow older. Perhaps the most well-known is alzheimers disease, a condition that causes declining mental function and other debilitating behaviors in older adults. In addition, a common but under-treated mental health condition in senior citizens is depression. Often, older adults develop depression in concurrence with another debilitating health condition like heart disease or cancer.

We don’t always realize what others are going through. Sometimes you can pass a smile and that will be all someone needs to brighten their day. In our Ageing Mastery Program we remind the students to pay it forward. There are acts of kindness and ways to pay it forward to others. These things can be very rewarding back to you.

Upcoming events

Monday: Blood pressure checks, 9 a.m.; SAIL Bone Builders, 9 a.m.; Walking Club, 9 a.m.; Cards (pinochle and bridge), 12:30 p.m.; Exercise with Evies Friends, 1 p.m.

Tuesday: Silver Sneakers, 8:15 a.m.; Exercise with Evie’s Friends, 9 a.m.; Hamburger stroganoff, 11:30 a.m.; cards (500, Duplicate Bridge,  Pinochle), 12:30 p.m.; AMP, 2 p.m.

Wednesday: Wood Carvers,  8:30 a.m.; Tai Chi, 9 a.m.; Walking Club, 9 a.m.;

WWW Coffee Shop, 11:30 a.m.; Weight Watchers, 12:15 p.m.; Cards (Duplicate Bridge, Pinochle, Cribbage),  12:30 p.m.; Stitching Bees,  1 p.m.; Open chess, 1 p.m.

Thursday: Tops, 8 a.m.; Silver Sneakers, 8:15 a.m.; Exercise  with Evie’s friends 9:00 a.m.; Cards (Pinochle) 12:30 p.m.; Bingo and open chess, 1 p.m.; Weight Watchers, 5 p.m.; Zumba 6 p.m.

Friday: SAIL Bone Builders, 9 a.m.; Walking Club, 9 a.m.; Cards (Bridge tournament, 500), 12:30 p.m.; Ping pong, 3 p.m.

Weekly Card Results

Monday Bridge

April 9, two tables

1st Millie Seiver, 2nd Dave Solomonson, 3rd John Karnes

Tuesday Bridge

April 10, four tables

1st Rick Stroup, 1st Jim Fisher; 2nd Bud Higgins, 2nd Vandy Newman; 3rd Ron Peters, 3rd Lorraine Lippert; 4th Joyce Crowe, 4th Millie Seiver; 5th Barb Engebritsen, 5th Orrion Roisen

Tuesday 500

April 9, three tables

1st Sally Michels, 2nd Dennis Bray, 3rd Roman Kikuts, 4th Mary Kikuts

Friday 500

April 13, two tables

1st Gene Rauen, 2nd Sally Michels, 3rd Dave Solomonson

Wednesday Duplicate Bridge

April 11, six tables

1st Stan Schultz, 1st Tom Flaherty; 2nd Vandy Newman, 2nd Ron Peters; 3rd Dave Ring, 3rd Orrion Roisen; 4th Larry Crowe, 4th Jim Fisher; 5th Millie Seiver, 5th Joyce Crowe