I can't help but notice....

[Dizzi Lizzi]

Nah, that was a crack.

If they did, the funeral industry is notorious about sticking it the survivors. I have printed out my preferences for my daughter...

1. If I am lost diving, I don't want anyone taking risks trying to locate my carcass. If I am unable to set off my PLB, it'll be too late anyway. Just apologize for those whose trips I ruined.
2. If I die outside of the US and they do find me, DAN will pay for my return - and have a second autopsy done on arrival as I don't trust governments in dive destinations to be honest.
3. Get bids on the cheapest direct cremation possible (funeral directors would rather cost at least 5 times as much), have the cremains FedExed when done, and talk to my hometown cemetery association about requirements to bury those there. They can have a local employee dig the 15" deep hole economically if needed, but get updated instructions. I'd prefer a 60# motor mix marked like I made for a number of unmarked graves here, but I'd need to teach someone how - so I think it'd be easier to make one each fall for the following year in case that's the one. Unused slabs can be turned over for other uses.

I realize now that I need to update my advance directive!

 

[Hoag]

I personally think that a lot of issues are a result of unrealistic expectations.

I am 58. I am also overweight. I am also well aware of those facts. Therefore, I am also well aware of my limitations and I know that I can not safely dive the same "aggressive" dive profile as a very fit person in their 20s can. I dive in warm blue water and tend to dive a slightly shallower profile than the others in my group. If the group is at 80-100 ft, then I have no issues hanging out at 70-80 feet. I will also try to be back near the boat with lots of air left, and not push the limits.

Does this guarantee that I won't have an accident? No. Of course it doesn't. Life doesn't come with guarantees. It does mean though that I recognize my limits and I dive within them.

Knowing your own limits and diving within them goes a long way to having a safe dive.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

^^ 100% right.

 

[dmaziuk]

 

[DandyDon]

Haha... I was thinking a dive flag and float made out of marble would be a good gravestone...

That'd be classy for an instructor, yeah - but there are two options there. Make clear which one. Or better, shop for it now, find the best offer and contract it, and they can still place it as a Cenotaph in a family plot - inscription to show "Lost at sea" if that's the case. Advise family to never clean it with anything other than "Wet & Forget" or D/2, following instructions - no scrubbing. So many have been ruined with improper cleanings, or chalk or shaving cream added to make them easier to read. And no statues or brass vases, nothing worth more than a dollar that could be stolen as there are many who visit graveyards just to steal.

 

[Ayisha]

I don't think I ever said that an obese diver couldn't be a good diver. In fact my main buddy of almost 40 years is significantly overweight and he's as cool as they come in the water. He's cave certified, does big trimix dives and has the common sense to call a dive if he feels conditions warrant it.

I also believe that he'd have a heart attack if if ever got caught in a serious current and had to swim against it. It almost happened 15 years ago and his weight and fitness level haven't improved since then.

If it's your buddy that I'm thinking of, he's a pretty strong guy. 15 years ago, he pulled me up onto his zodiac with one hand when I didn't know how to get back onto a zodiac. I only weighed about 90 lbs back then, but still.

 

[BRT]

Nobody ever took the first step on the road to personal change by deciding that they look ugly.



It's extremely hard to unwind the root cause and also extremely difficult to address the causes of obesity when these confounding factors are present. e.g. arthritis is often aggravated enough by exercise that the ideal daily exercise regimen is simply not feasible. It is particularly difficult for diabetic people to lose weight; some authorities believe it is not feasible for most diabetics to reach their "ideal weight" and believe it is unwise for physicians to encourage that as a goal.



I agree. The BMI-based guidelines don't consider body shape or musculature and are not based on solid science.

"It is particularly difficult for diabetic people to lose weight"

• Mayo clinic says
• Weight loss. Despite eating more than usual to relieve hunger, you may lose weight. Without the ability to metabolize glucose, the body uses alternative fuels stored in muscle and fat. Calories are lost as excess glucose is released in the urine.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I am a firm believer in giving people the right to informed choices. Let the buddy and dive op know of any issues and let them choose if they are happy with the risks you present. Anybody who has had someone die while diving with them knows the Investigation, police interviews and family's questions about it are more than "an inconvenience" that ruines a day or two of your holiday.

We have talked to our buddies about things honestly. One of the guys is very big and I was concerned I would never be able to drag him out in an emergency. He and his wife said..."Yea, we know... to be honest.. there aren't many people who could!" That understanding took a lot of pressure off a lot of people!

A friend's daughter was on a sport team representing Australia. It was a very physical sport and she was incredibly fit but her BMI said she was overweight

I figure if something happens to me diving I don't want others to be at risk recovering a body. Efforts should be directed at saving life not a corpse. I figure it would save the middle man anyway.. I want to be cremated and ashes spread as sea, I figure the best monument would be placing a plaque underwater as a navigational aid for people learning to dive at one of my favourite dive sites.

A bit morbid maybe but I am a realist. I'd rather live until I am dead than be dead while I am alive.

 

[Kharon]

.... I'd rather live until I am dead than be dead while I am alive.

Amen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LiteHedded]

We have to be careful when using the word "obese." Here is a picture of someone who is rated as Obese according to the BMI. He was somehow fit enough to be the most valuable player in the SuperBowl a couple of years ago despite being so horribly obese.

View attachment 424375

Yes, that is an extreme example, but there is a connection to this thread. The BMI starts with a near anorexic model as an ideal and then assumes that any additional weight MUST come courtesy of fat. All muscle is treated as if it were fat. You don't have to be a football player or a bodybuilder to have enough muscle to throw that scale off.

No one has ever mistaken me for a bodybuilder, but I have a fair amount of muscle, and I do work out to maintain the strength needed for all the work related to technical diving. A number of years ago, when I was in better shape than I am now, I had a hydrostatic body fat test done, and that is considered to be the most accurate measure of body composition. Although by the BMI I was well overweight, my body fat composition was pretty good. The analysis I got predicted what my body fat percentage would be if I lost weight solely through fat loss. According to that chart, if I got down to ZERO body fat, I would still be overweight according to the BMI.

Around that time, DAN's Alert Diver magazine published an article about the high percentage of dive fatalities in which the divers were overweight or obese, according to the BMI. I challenged that article on the basis of what I just wrote above, and they then did a follow up article in which they compared ways to determine fitness to dive. Their conclusion was that the BMI was the very worst way to measure personal fitness.

If we are going to talk about obesity for this discussion, I think we have to use the "I know it when I see it" defintion--someone with scade of fat and not a lot of accompanying muscular development.

this old chestnut... everyone in this thread with a BMI over 30 who is also a professional athlete please raise your hand and excuse yourself.

everyone else:

"BMI is not a perfect measure, because it does not directly assess body fat. Muscle and bone are denser than fat, so an athlete or muscular person may have a high BMI, yet not have too much fat. But most people are not athletes, and for most people, BMI is a very good gauge of their level of body fat.

• Research has shown that BMI is strongly correlated with the gold-standard methods for measuring body fat. (2) And it is an easy way for clinicians to screen who might be at greater risk of health problems due to their weight. (3,4)"

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesit...ity-definition/obesity-definition-full-story/