Undercurrent--"Why Divers Die"

[String]

CMAS standards and the affiliate agencies strike me as a far more sane set of minima. Some people dont like it as its perceived as too tough/rigid but i cant see anything there that anyone sensible can argue isnt needed.

 

[MikeFerrara]

A lot of people misunderstand what the RSTC is. It isn't some independant body that's expert in diving deciding what dive instruction should be. The RSTC is the commityee to ansii for "standards". The members doing the writting of the standards are the agencies themselves. They aren't deciding what training should be. They're defining what it EILL be. The standards serve the same purpose as standards in other industries, like communitation...my IEEE card will talk to your IEEE card. While it gets everyone doing things in a compatable way, it doesn't mean that it's the best way or even a good way. The issue is compatability rather than quality.

 

[lazyturtle]

You're kidding right? Fins and masks can (and do) come off. Certainly niether should be required in order to sustain life. Heck, It's probably a good idea to know how to swim if you going to be anywhere near the water.

Ok I've seen every crazy, stupid and improbable thing that a diver can do but I've never seen anyone lose both fins before.

I actually do think people need to be able to swim to dive, I just feel that in the context of scuba diving, swiming with MFS is swiming. I also think that if you can swim 300 yards with MFS, you could swim 100 yards without. I've always offered either option, so far nobody has ever chosen the MFS swim.

I also think that being able to transport yourself 100 yards in an unlimited time frame doesn't prove you can swim. I'd prefer (and at some shops it's been the case) to do the swim test in open water conditions rather than in pool conditions. It's a whole different thing to swim 100 yards in the ocean or a large lake than in a pool.

 

[Cmdrjay1]

Well, I guess Im screwed then. I just checked my BMI and Im at 28.0 - officially making me "Overweight" 5'10, 190 lbs. I think if you've ever trained for contact sports...you're going to die underwater.

 

[Tigerman]

Well, I guess Im screwed then. I just checked my BMI and Im at 28.0 - officially making me "Overweight" 5'10, 190 lbs. I think if you've ever trained for contact sports...you're going to die underwater.

Having trained MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) I have the same problem. Currently im bordering overweight and that is without having trained for 2 years and being 15-20 pounds below my preferred weight.. As soon as I start training again, those 15-20 pounds will go back on rather fast and voila, im well above overweight again..
BMI is only correct for people that dont ever lift anything heavy

 

[Charlie59]

Oh no, back from the dead.

Am I missing something? Isn't 28 still below 30?

 

[Tigerman]

Oh no, back from the dead.

Am I missing something? Isn't 28 still below 30?

Overweight start at 25, obesity at 30..
Im barely below 25 and while that suggest im closing in on overweight according to the BMI.. Im far from fat, but something as easy as bone structure (some people have heavier bone structure than others) can make a rather large impact on the bmi for example..

 

[in_cavediver]

Since this was resurrected. I have a BMI between 29-30 since the holidays. I drop the 10-15lbs I want to, I am merely 'overwieght'. By the BMI tables, I have been overwieght since I was a freshman in High School. I call that BS. I now consider myself somewhat overweight and could loose 15-20lbs. (yeah, more than I can blame on the holidays, some came when I quit smoking). IF I drop that weight, I am still in the 26-27 range. That magical drop will not have a measurable impact on my diving risk.

Find a more meaninful measure/statistic to equate to diving accidents.

 

[Code Monkey]

I call BS.

Haven't read the article yet so I can't comment on what they've got to say but I can respond to what I'm seeing in this thread. I've seen a lot of divers, here, talking about how dangerous obesity is. At the same time, I've spent a lot of time over the years looking at cause of death in diving accidents - reading about individual incidents as well as reading the DAN summary reports each year. I've come to the conclusion that divers die primarily because of panic and/or diving beyond their training. To be fair, there _are_ a number of 40-50 year old male divers dying (sp?) due to coronary artery disease which is exacerbated by obesity but this isn't what people are talking about.

Now, _should_ people get in better shape? Yes! There are a number of benefits to health, longevity, and quality of life and some of these are diving related. But is obesity anywhere near the top of the list of why divers die? I don't think so.

Duck!

 

[Tigerman]

...
Now, _should_ people get in better shape? Yes! There are a number of benefits to health, longevity, and quality of life and some of these are diving related. But is obesity anywhere near the top of the list of why divers die? I don't think so.

Duck!

We should definetly stay in shape, however i read a report some time ago that concluded that the "health freaks" that count every calory they eat and is generally freaky aware of their health actually had more psychological issues and a generally lower life quality than the "normal" and "slightly extra" people..
Now that I would actually believe more in than the whole BMI and BMI in diving topics..