Tuesday, October 21, 2008

News Feed

Thanks to the EWHAED news sleuths who forwarded me these:

1) The concept of fining overweight athletes--what do you think?

2) Think your flu-induced weight-loss must be temporary? Think again. Reactions?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Regarding the first one--the "overweight" athletes--how is that even being defined? Muscle mass weighs more than fat mass, so an athlete who is healthy and in good shape could potentially weigh more than a given arbitrary number. Not to mention that losing weight to reach an arbitrary number could hinder their performance more than a few extra pounds could. I think that as long as the athlete is performing okay, doing his or her (in this case his) job then what does it matter?

PTC said...

In response to #2, I'm never taking another day off from the gym!!! Ugh!! 2 weeks to more belly fat. NO thanks!!

#1 is tricky. As a pro athlete one has the responsibility to remain fit and in shape. I think they should just measure body fat in this case because the athlete may have put on muscle and not fat.

I Hate to Weight said...

i'm a recovering anorexic, bulimic and compulsive eater. i have a big issue with the joy surrounding illness-related weight loss. i've heard people say how great a cancer patient looks, because she's lost so much weight. why is it so important to be thin? that desire nearly ruined my life.

Anonymous said...

You may lose weight when you get sick, but you feel like crap and it's not a worthy price to pay IMO. I have Crohn's, and I dropped down to 80 or so pounds a few winters ago (I'm 5'2"). I couldn't have cared less about my weight then. And they keep pushing people to lose weight "for their health" . . . riiiiiiight.

Anonymous said...

In response to #1, I’m not quite sure what I think.

On one hand, when you are a professional athlete and sign on with a team you are signing that contract to conform to what the coach wants. Being an overweight athlete can also be very dangerous, it puts a lot of pressure on the athlete’s already sore joints. Also, I would be a lot more motivated to stay at a healthy weight if I knew I was going to be fined.

But on the other hand, having so much pressure to be a certain weight could lead to eating disorders, drug use, and very low self esteem which is also very dangerous.

azusmom said...

Regarding #1, saying a person has to lose x amount of weight and weigh in at this number by this date is simply a recipe for disordered eating and exercising (just look at high school wrestlers!).

As for using the flu as a starting point for weight loss? I think maybe focusing on getting healthy and strong again is a bit more important.
As for the comment on gaining belly fat from taking 2 weeks off from working out? I now have nightmare visions of going to the gym and being surrounded by people in hospital gowns and carrying I.V. stands from one workout station to the next.
OK, that's extreme, but my point is that sometimes it's OK, and even NECESSARY, to put workouts on hold while the body is healing.

zubeldia said...

#1 - eds in sports are rampant. This will surely make things far worse.. and what sort of cultural values are we promoting with this? Pretty horrible, I think. I really think that sports are NOT worth it if this is the cost...

#2 - a bout of flu triggered another round of anorexia for me in college. I find unintentional weight loss hard, really hard.

Palmy - you'll be forced to stop exercising if you don't eat more and exercise less. Your body simply will stop responding to your demands.