On Mon, 8 Oct 2001 David Strike <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Leaving the machine's peculiarities to one side, it's probably also
>fair to say that many of the tragedies - and near-misses - are a
>direct result of poor, or 'let's-suck-it-and-see', training.
>Something, of course, that is seldom acknowledged by those who,
>having splashed out the money, want to run before they can walk! :-)

What about the other side of the coin ... the physical condition of that
diver?

<SNIP of the kiwi shears>
>At that depth, with that machine, I'd be another 'heart-attack'
>victim!  :-)

Strike's heart-attack comment has prompted me to post a news item from
today's Western OZ newspaper. Don't know who wrote the article but it
originated from Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald.
Though he has probably forgotten about it ... Strike had some input into
this. Last year we took part in an OZ-wide diver survey which was run
concurrently in the UK.  I have to wait for the SPUMS journal to come out
to get the full results but this is what was posted in the paper.

AGE BLAMED FOR DIVER'S DISEASES
Sydney Morning Herald & The West Australian

The popular image is of tanned, lean young bodies.

But the reality among Australia's scuba divers is quite different: those
who dive regularly are predominantly middle-aged, almost half are over-
weight or obese, and many have medical conditions such as asthma, heart
disease or psychological problems, a national survey has found.

Inspired to conduct the research by the physical appearance of "some of the
divers I jump into the water with", Associate Professor David Taylor, from
the emergency medicine department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital ,
analysed health questionnaires from members of 29 dive club around the
country.

Three-quarters of participants were men and three-quarters were aged
between 31 and 60.

"Most of them have been diving on average 10 years. They're all experienced
divers," Professor Taylor told the Australasian College for Emergenc
Medicine conference in Hobart.

"Someone who's 20 years old and fit and healthy can get big and saggy and
fat over the years," he said. But there was no requirement for divers to
renew their certification, which depends on passing a medical.

Professor Taylor found 13 per cent of divers required regular medication,
10 per cent had asthma and 10 per cent had high blood pressure or coronary
heart disease. One-quarter of the respondents had had psychological
problems. Two divers had epilepsy and one was diabetic.

Professor Taylor now plans to research whether people misrepresent their
health in order to be allowed to dive.

Obesity was a serious problem for divers because it impeded movement
underwater, as it did on land. Those with psychological conditions might be
more prone to claustrophobia or anxiety.

According tothe Professional Association of Diving Instructors Asia
Pacific, about 65,000 people receive new diving certifications each year in
Australia. A much smaller number go on to dive regularly.

"I think after a certain age it should be obligatory to have a medical
check every 2 to 3 years," Dr Michael Reid, from the Diving Medical Centre
at St Leonards, NSW, said. People with asthma should not dive, he said, and
the duration of dives should be restricted for the overweight.

A consultant in diving medicine, Dr Carl Edmonds, said at lest 10 people
died each year in Australia as a consequence of scuba diving. Heart failure
had taken over from burst lungs as the leading cause of death among divers,
reflecting "older people going diving, and divers getting older".

Previous surveys showed a quarter of diving deaths had a medical cause.
END

Viv who is slinking off to hide behind some rocks coz she needs to go on a
diet :-(