Doug Lloyd wrote: > I'll have to look up some current > research to see what body mass indexes and fitness levels predict for > cold water immersion outcomes. I read about it years ago and fitness likely is a better predictor of short term survival ability than long term (as Ari suggests). Once any person is in the water long enough (where long is very few minutes) the outer extremities are shut down and then insulation is important. However, as Prof. Popsicle (Giesbrecht) and others have pointed out, the ability to control yourself and deal with the situation in the first seconds to minute is critical to long-term survival. Again, as Ari pointed out, it likely will make a difference for a paddler in the period when they are attempting to re-enter the kayak. I've been contacted back-channel about my comments on fit vs fat. I did say fit vs fat, not skinny vs fat. Fat _and_ fit will outperform skinny and way out of shape. Fat levels don't strictly dictate fitness (though extreme overweight and obesity pretty much preclude fitness). If you compare runners to distance swimmers, the swimmers almost always show less muscle definition due to a thicker layer of fat on their bodies (the muscle is under there, just not as obvious as in the 4-8% body fat athletes). If you spend that much time in the water (even in heated pools) that little bit of fat is beneficial. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Mar 30 2007 - 09:22:34 PDT
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