Hello and welcome to Tuesdays Levy Letter. I hope youre having a very good day and I hope you enjoyed a good start to the week. We had another big response after the programme last night, particularly to our story about finger printing children in schools. Keep your messages and comments coming in. Well have our contact details on the programme as always, and if you want to email something to us direct then send it along to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Last Choir Standing Another reminder here about the Last Choir Standing event in Hull on Saturday 9th of August. Therell be a giant sing along next month in the city centre and some choral performances to enjoy. Ill be there at Queen Victoria Square underneath the Big Screen on Saturday 9th August at 3pm. If you want to be part of the seated audience, then you need to register for the tickets on the website bbc.co.uk/lastchoirstanding or by telephone on 03700 100 150. Theres still time to get your tickets. I hope youll come down and enjoy the event, and if you do, Ill see you there. Drummer If you were making a list of the fittest professions, you might think footballer, or fire fighters, but probably not rock musician. However, think again, because according to a new study, professional drummers demonstrate the stamina and fitness of top athletes when they bash away in concerts night after night. Tests were carried out on the drummer in the well known band Blondie, and showed that during a concert, his heart rate peaked at about 190 beats a minute, comparable to top athletes and actually exceeding the predicted maximum heart rate for a man of his age. During an hour long concert, a drummer can burn between 400-600 calories. Drummers have to perform long sets night after night, while in comparison a top footballer might play a match once or twice a week. The Blondie drummer played a hundred 90 minute concerts in a 12 month period, which is quite a lot, and goes to partly explain why he was in such good shape during the tests. So if youre trying to encourage somebody to get fit but theyre not interested in running or sports, you could buy them a drum kit instead. Might not be too good for the ears though. Salt According to new figures, campaigns to reduce the countrys salt intake is having an effect, and were eating less than we used to. Between 2001 and 2008, the average fell from 9.5g to 8.6g per day. It seems like a miniscule difference, but its estimated that the resulting falls in blood pressure could prevent 7,000 heart attack and stroke deaths across the UK. The falls were confirmed by analysing salt levels in the urine of approximately 600 volunteers. I hope those researchers were paid well for their work. The target is for us to eat no more than 6g of salt a day, and the campaign is targeting food producers of meat, crisps, and cakes, asking them to voluntarily sign up to reduce levels. Its important because salt levels can contribute to high blood pressure which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Its estimated a third of the population have high blood pressure, and achieving the 6g a day target could save more than 20,000 lives a year. It is extraordinary how big an impact such relatively small amounts can make. Heres a frightening statistic, the 10% reduction in our daily salt intake means that 19,700 tonnes less salt is being eaten per year. So reduce your salt intake and you could improve your health, its all just a matter of grammes. Well I hope you have a good day and dont forget to join me tonight at half past six on BBC One for Tuesdays Look North. Well have all the days news from our part of the world, and the detailed local weather forecast as well. Dont miss that, and of course if you have anything to say on the programme, or an unusual picture for us to see, send them in at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Have a good afternoon, bye for now. Peter Your email address will be held by the BBC and kept confidential, and will only be used in relation to this newsletter. You will be given the option to unsubscribe from this newsletter each time you receive it. Please visit the BBC's Privacy & Cookies Policy (www.bbc.co.uk/privacy) for more information And for the latest news and more where you live, go to: http://bbc.co.uk/humber and http://bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the BBC Look North newsletter, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/looknorthhull/newsletter/newsletter_index.shtml, enter your email address in the unsubscribe box. 1.94.4
