44 ~ Wednesday, June 17, 1987 - North Shore News

UNDE R-EXERCISING FACTOR

Losing weight not key

UNDER-EXERCISING 1S a
greater health hazard than
overeating, according to a Simon
Fraser University kinesiology pro-
fessor.

“*You don’t die from
overweight,”” says Dr. William
Ross. ‘“‘The real problems are
maintenance of muscle mass and
bone demineralization. Bone
demineralization is almost irrever-
sible and very serious.”’

Any program of body control,
through diet, exercise or a com-
bination .of both, must take
changes in body composition into
consideration. Monitoring fat is
not enough because adiposity is
not the important factor, he says.

“A change in body weight in-
volves a tissue change of some
sort, and how those tissues are
changed is the important point,
not the weight totals of the change.

“People tend to look from a
narrow perspective: losing weight
— that’s great. But it isn’t true.
You can lose body weight by sim-
ply staying in bed. What you are
actually losing is muscle mass, and
that can be serious. Prolonged bed
rest or immobilization is a very
bad thing, and can be deadly for
an older person.”’ .

Ross has evolved a system of
measuring body composition
which takes into consideration
many factors. ‘‘Height and weight
tables don’t mean much,” he says.
“On the average height and weight
tables, body builders rate as obese,

and that just isn’t so. They have |

more muscle mass, but they also
have lower levels of body fat than
the general population.

- “Kootball = players. are another
group who show up on the height
and weight charts as overweight,
while marathon runners are usually
underweight. One problem with
the standard charts is that they
have no way of differentiating be-
‘tween different types of body
composition.”

Ross’s system offers an effective
method of tracking both weight
and comprsition of body mass.

“Adiposity can be a risk factor,
but 1 wonder if the stress of social
ostracization may not be as big a
tisk as the obesity itself. Some
people are almost suicidal about
body weight. Body weight is part
of their whole life style and self-
image.””

Ross’s view of ‘ideal’ weight and
shape differs from the popular
preconception of a slim, lean, ‘l-
calorie’ generation point of view.

“What is ideal?’” he asks. “You
should probably ask yourself these
questions: ‘Do you have enough
energy to go upstairs? Can you
handle endurance activities? Are
you reasonably happy with your
physique?’ If you're happy and
healthy at this stage, that might be

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“Body weight by itself is not a
good indicator.’

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