Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Military personnel take extreme measures to meet body-fat and weight rules
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Heather Sommerdyke spent $12,000 on two liposuction surgeries last spring. She was running eight to 10 miles, six days a week. She even switched to a starvation diet. It was all part of a last-ditch effort to trim her waistline to the 35.5-inch maximum for female airmen. She gave birth to her second child two years ago, and her midsection never quite recovered.
Sommerdyke is 5-foot-7 and has plenty of muscle and "the bone structure of a guy," she said. She can pass the other portions of the Air Force's strict physical training (PT) requirements: the run, the push-ups and the sit-ups. But her 37-inch waistline - not her weight - is her problem.
"I hate having to treat my body this way," said Sommerdyke. "I lose strength and stamina, and it takes a toll on the mental health as well, which seems to be contrary to what we should really be pushing for: health and strength for flight-line work and deployments."
It is no surprise that the military services require a high degree of physical fitness, and the vast majority of service members can pass those tests. But the military also has weight limits based on height, age and sex. If a soldier's weight or waistline is over the limit during twice-a-year fitness testing, he or she is given two months to lose the excess.
Thirty-five percent of male soldiers do not meet the weight standards, and 6 percent of all soldiers exceed body-fat standards, according to a 2009 report published in the journal Military Medicine. The report said that about 24,000 Army personnel were discharged between 1992 and 2007 for failure to comply with weight standards.
Soldiers are afraid of those limits, knowing that if they cross that line they won't be promotable, cannot be assigned to leadership positions and are not authorized to attend professional military schools.
Those restrictions go into effect as soon as a soldier fails any part of the semiannual fitness test or weighs more than allowed. They remain in effect until the soldier retests satisfactorily, or until the Army discharges him or her for repeated failure to make standards. (The other services have similar standards.)
Army Staff Sgt. Eric M. Pettengill at Fort Eustis, Va., wrote in an e-mail response to an Army Times online query seeking comment: "The Army needs to look at the current height and weight standards and realize that not everyone is built the same - you can be a gym rat and still have a gut and fail the tape test. They need to have alternate ways of estimating body fat on a person besides using the tape."
Drastic measures
Pressure to meet strict requirements has led some to take drastic steps.
The Army doesn't have data on the number of soldiers using extreme measures to meet the standards, but dozens of soldiers responded to a question from Army Times, many saying they use starvation, dehydration, pills or laxatives, and some have used - or are considering using - liposuction.
"I don't think we have a clear understanding how widespread this problem is," said Col. George Dilly, chief dietitian of the Army Medical Command, which oversees the service's medical programs worldwide. "Soldiers are hiding the fact they are doing this because they don't want the problem exposed."
The standards vary slightly from one branch of the military to another.
The Marine Corps tightened its rules in 2008, eliminating the leniency once shown to Marines who run afoul of body-fat standards but still score high on their physical fitness test.
The Air Force responded to years of complaints about waistline requirements by adding a few inches to the men's and women's measurements when it unveiled new PT standards last year. Until July 1, men needed a 32.5-inch waist to earn a perfect score, even though many airmen said that goal was impractical. The new standard raised that measurement to 35 inches for men, and from 29 inches to 31.5 inches for women. (Those are perfect scores, with passing scores a few inches over that.) But the Air Force also moved from annual fitness tests to twice-a-year tests.
A 2009 study by two officers at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., found that nearly one in three Marines were so afraid of violating the Corps' standards that they have used extreme weight-loss methods, including starvation, taking laxatives and surgery.
But the rate may be much higher than that, said Capt. Paula Taibi, one of the study's co-authors. More than 70 percent of the 390 Marines who responded to her survey were from the junior enlisted and officer ranks - and not long out of boot camp or Officer Candidate School. If so many men and women in peak physical shape are using risky means to blast fat and avoid the measuring tape soon after joining the Corps, she said, then a lot of career Marines with far more to lose probably do it, too. The report concludes that unconventional methods for weight loss are "widespread" within the Corps.
There are reports of Marines employing risky weight-loss techniques even while deployed in Afghanistan. Sgt. Shane Trefftzs, who works in the operations division of I Marine Expeditionary Force, told Marine Corps Times in an e-mail that after his command announced a weigh-in, some members of his unit took diuretics, laxatives and diet pills and fasted. "We're in a combat zone. Is this a smart idea?"
The Marine Corps commandant's office casts doubt on the Naval Postgraduate School study, saying the sample size was neither large enough nor diverse enough to accurately represent how widespread the trend may be.
Under former commandant Gen. James Conway, body composition standards were tightened. Maj. Joseph Plenzler, a spokesman for the commandant's office, said Conway encouraged Marines to be smart about how they stayed trim, but that didn't mean that looking the part wasn't considered vital.
"We Marines have historically held ourselves to high standards in both fitness and appearance," Plenzler said. "There are some Marines who may meet all established physical standards yet fail to present a suitable military appearance, and this is inconsistent with the Marine Corps' leadership principle of setting the example."
There is no indication that Conway's successor, Gen. James Amos, will let up on the tighter standards. To ensure that these rules are honored, an order was released in January codifying the way body-fat percentage is recorded on a Marine's annual review.
No secret
That soldiers are taking urgent steps is no secret in cosmetic-surgery circles. Jules Feledy, the senior partner at Belmont Plastic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, said he has seen a rise in the number of Marines coming to his office near the Marine Corps base in Quantico since the Corps tightened its standards. The Marines he sees are typically in superior shape, he said, but desperate to flatten their midsections to beat the tape, a measurement he, too, believes doesn't reflect physical abilities.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Melissa Gash recently saw a poster for liposuction at the post gym at Fort Riley, Kan. "The bottom of the poster clearly states that advertisement does not mean endorsement, but the fact that material like that is even allowed on post, and more specifically where soldiers go to get fit, is inappropriate," she said. "It gives the soldier the false impression that liposuction should even be an option."
Army Times also found liposuction ads in numerous base newspapers.
Most Marines who consider liposuction aren't out of shape, said Robert Peterson, a Hawaii-based plastic surgeon who has operated on many service members. "We mostly see Navy because many of them work long shifts on boats and submarines where exercise is difficult," Peterson said. "But we do get Marines. When we see them, they are usually fit. They just have a spare tire."
Like other plastic surgeons located near military installations, Peterson advertises to service members - and even offers a $500 discount on procedures that cost $5,000 or more. For many of his patients, the payoff comes in getting to keep their job, he said.
The authors are writers for, respectively, Army Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times, independent publications that are part of Gannett Government Media Corp., which previously published versions of this article.
mesmerize (Thefreedictionary)
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
The sports bra: Your No. 1 supporter
Everyone has a pair of feet, but women have an additional pair of something to worry about while exercising. And they're every bit as tricky to fit, control and protect, which is why bras are beginning to rival shoes as the most technical of all sporting apparel.
When the Jogbra was born in 1977, two jockstraps stitched together were a revelation. These days, the science that goes into corralling women's chests is much more extensive, with garments designed to smush in and hold up while wicking moisture, feeling comfortable and - hopefully - looking good.
Big improvements
The best news is for well-endowed women. More designers have jumped into the market with gravity-fighting creations, including Athleta, which launched its Signature Sports Bra line in January. The Va Va Sport Bra Top ($54) runs up to size 38DD and is the Gap Inc. brand's No. 1 seller. And good luck trying to track down Lululemon's newest bra, the Bust Stops Here ($58), which promises maximum support and coverage. It's sold out online.
Put to the test
Most bras address vertical movement but fail to control the breasts when they shift in other directions. "Different types of activity really require quite different support," says Joanna Scurr, head of the Research Group in Breast Health at the University of Portsmouth in Britain. "In tennis, there's a lot of upper body rotation, which leads to side-to-side breast movement. In basketball, it's more vertical." Scurr's research into the effects of breast support on athletic performance has led to the sport-specific line of bras ($68 each at www.figleaves.com ) from Shock Absorber. The Run Bra zeros in on figure-8 movement, the Ball Bra has extra support at the top to control up-down bounce, and the Racket Bra is constructed in an M-shape to prevent too much lateral swing.
Focus on fit
Just as running stores have systems for fitting shoes, similar strategies are getting more common for sports bras. Moving Comfort, a leading brand that was founded in the District (but is now based in the other Washington), has made a huge push for proper sizing. Last month it distributed a step-by-step guide to 600 retailers nationwide, including Fit3 in Tysons Corner. The guide includes a DialedFit Wheel to match measurements with bra size and a list of troubleshooting suggestions. (Uneven breasts? Fit to the larger one, then adjust the other strap and add a removable cup to the smaller one.)
Get sized
Local chain Potomac River Running hosts its next Bra Fitting Night with an expert from Moving Comfort on Thursday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Falls Church store (7516 Leesburg Pike). Space is limited; register at www.potomacriverrunning.com.
Shop smart
1) Do your chosen activity when you're trying on a bra: run, jump, do downward-facing dog. "Try lying on your back," advises exercise scientist LaJean Lawson, who tests bras for Champion. "You don't want anything poking you."
2) Check out the side view. If your breasts are popping out, the cups are too small. If the fabric is wrinkling, they're too big. The band should stay level, and there should be no itchy or hot spots.
3) Repeat this process for your bras at home. The general rule: A sports bra should never celebrate a birthday, though that depends on how much it's worn and how it's treated.
Innovations
Designers are bettering the bra through comfort construction and new fabrics, and by evolving the classic style. Here are three innovative options:
Champion Double Dry Spot Comfort Gel-cushioned straps don't dig into shoulders. The hook-and-eye closure is padded. $40.
Athleta Sprint Seamless Bra Top The style offers smaller-chested women more shape and helps avoid the dreaded "uniboob." There are removable cups for modesty. $48.
Moving Comfort Juno The cups are lined with S.Cafe fabric, which is made from recycled coffee grounds. It helps eliminate odor and wick away sweat. $52.
Perfect fit
Straps: If they're digging in or falling off, something's wrong. Keep in mind that racerback styles can't slip.
Cup: Measure around the fullest point of the bust and then subtract the rib cage measurement to determine your cup size. Many women opt for a too-large band and compensate with a too-small cup.
Band: Measure the rib cage just under the bust, then add four to get your band size. This should feel more snug than a lingerie bra and fit on the loosest hook.
Underwire: Some women refuse to wear underwire for exercise, but it makes the band more secure, which is especially helpful for those with larger chests.
Style: Compression bras hug the breasts to the body, while encapsulation bras support each breast separately. The best bets are combos that do both.
Online poll
What's your biggest annoyance about sports bras?
"I almost had to call the fire department to get them off."
Ask an expert
Read the transcript from a reader Q&A with LaJean Lawson, the sports bra blogger for Champion, and MisFits columnist Vicky Hallett.
flinty (Thefreedictionary)
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
Children seem to gain extra weight after having their tonsils removed
THE QUESTION Tonsils often are removed to eliminate infections that cause sore throats and trouble swallowing and to help a child breathe better while sleeping. Might a tonsillectomy also affect the child's weight?
THIS STUDY analyzed data from nine studies, involving 795 children who had a tonsillectomy, with or without adenoid removal, before they turned 18. Their weights ranged from normal to extremely obese. In the first few years after their surgery, most of the children gained weight beyond what was expected as they grew taller. In more than half of the children, weight increased 46 to 100 percent. Most of the others gained as well, but in lesser amounts, although youths who were the most obese at the start neither gained nor lost weight after a tonsillectomy.
WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? Children with inflamed tonsils, and parents who must decide whether to have the tonsils removed. Although tonsillectomies are not done as often as they were a few decades ago, about a half-million children still have the operation each year in the United States.
CAVEATS The study suggested a link between tonsillectomy and subsequent weight gain, but it was not designed to prove cause and effect. It also did not determine the exact mechanism that may cause weight gain after a tonsillectomy. Citing the increasing number of obese children, the authors urged parents to add potential weight gain to the list of factors they consider when deciding whether to have a child's tonsils removed.
FIND THIS STUDY February issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (oto.sagepub.com/content/144/2/154.abstract).
LEARN MORE ABOUT tonsils at www.entnet.org/healthinformation (click on "throat") and www.mayoclinic.com.
- Linda Searing
The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals. Nonetheless, conclusive evidence about a treatment's effectiveness is rarely found in a single study. Anyone considering changing or beginning treatment of any kind should consult with a physician.
nemesis (Thefreedictionary)
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)