Undercurrent--"Why Divers Die"
- Thread starter Charlie59
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Being PC is such a pile of... of... excrement. I don't intentionally true to cause pain to others, and I have several friends who are, by any measure, morbidly obese. However, this is an issue that affects not just that individual's life, but potentially also anyone who dives with them. Have seen too many rescues of obviously obese people to really care about whether it is PC to call an obese person an obese person and unfit for the sport.
I believe it and I would love to see the article. Of course obesity will greatly increase someones chance of death, not just while scuba diving, but it is one place where I think it is especially so.
~Jess
~Jess
I don't doubt that being too heavy poses certain risks. Poor condition regardless of cause does.
However what sticks out in all the DAN reports is the fact that divers with poor skills get hurt. It's hard to make turm big people into little people but it's pretty straight forward to do a better job of teaching. It really would be easier than trying to cure the heart attack.
However what sticks out in all the DAN reports is the fact that divers with poor skills get hurt. It's hard to make turm big people into little people but it's pretty straight forward to do a better job of teaching. It really would be easier than trying to cure the heart attack.
MikeFerrara:
Yeah, but that ain't gonna happen.
OP
Most of the articles from Undercurrent can be seen at undercurrent.org but may require subscription to the online journal. Let me quote the first line here though, "Obesity has long been considered a risk factor for decompression sickness, but Divers Alert Network (DAN) also considers it a top reason for dive fatalities."
Going on to say that "45% of dead divers had a body mass index of 30 or above".
And , "Therefore, physically unfit buddies can't always be relied upon to come to the rescue in times of need."
This from Undercurrent January 2007.
Going on to say that "45% of dead divers had a body mass index of 30 or above".
And , "Therefore, physically unfit buddies can't always be relied upon to come to the rescue in times of need."
This from Undercurrent January 2007.
Charlie59:
And do they go on to establish a causal relationship in those accidents? The fact that a fat person dies while diving doesn't mean that being fat caused the fatality.
DAN has also reported that buoyancy control problems are repoted in over 60%of the dives that result in injury. They stopped reporting that statistic for injuries at one point but still reported that buoyancy control problems were reported in over 40% of the dives that resulted in fatality.
Being physically unfit is bad and I note that some agencies are taking decisive action...they have removed swimming requirements so that unfit divers can more easily and enjoyably get through the course.
stepup
Contributor
I am obese. I am 6'3'' and I weigh 300# but i can out swim many of my buddies. I played sports all the way through High school. I ride motorcycles and out ride some of my skinier friends. I can wakeboard which everyone told me that I couldn't get up because of my size. I do alot of stuff skinny people do and I can do alot of stuff that fat people aren't supposed to be able to do. I think that saying obesity is the #1 cause of death in scuba diving is very stereotypical. I dive with people who are bigger than I am and are very good divers. The fact of the matter is weight to me is just a number. Yeah I am not saying that 400lbs isn't big but people who are obese but can still move hey more power to them from me. My point is when people say that weight is the cause of an accident i feel like that is just reachig for something to blame it on. I think that stupidity is what causes 99% of accidents. Thats just my opinion and everyone is entitled to one.
ianr33
Contributor
Charlie59:
Unless you know what percentage of dives are done by divers with a body mass index of 30 or above that figure means absolutely nothing.
gangrel441
Contributor
Charlie59:
So...ummm...Arnold Schwarzenegger is obese and would be a high risk case for diving? I've said it before and I'll say it again, BMI is one of the most ludicrous measure to use in guaging a person's health. It only takes into account age, height, weight and gender. No account is given to percentage of body fat. As muscle is more dense than fat, if you take two people of the same age, sex, height and weight, but one is 20% body fat, and the other is 3% body fat, they will have the exact same BMI. Think a sumo wrestler standing next to a body builder.
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