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Fit or fat? SOU's high-tech water tub tells all Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Southern Oregon University student Sean Peterson gets his body fat measured by Professor Jenny Slawta in a hydrostatic underwater weighing system. The device is available by appointment to the public for a $25 fee. A new computerized system for athletes will also be available to the public By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune No more pinching skin folds. Now, for $25, you can jump in a big tub of warm water and get an accurate measure of your "real weight" - the percentage of body fat - and an indicator of how prone you might be for an array of fat-related diseases. The 3-by-6 steel box cost Southern Oregon University in Ashland $15,000 and will be used to establish baseline body fat stats for athletes embarking on training programs. It replaces the old method of measuring skin folds with calipers. In an attempt to help balance the school's budget, the computer-wired device will also be open for public use. Call 552-6264 for an appointment. To learn your body fat, you weigh yourself dry, with a reasonably empty stomach, then sit in the tank, holding yourself down by grabbing handles, then exhale all the air you can and put your head under water. A scale on the bottom of the tank takes your underwater weight and since "fat floats" and doesn't push the scale, the computer can factor the two figures, subtract your fat and bingo - you know the "real fat" you're working to get rid of. Women average 25 percent and men 15 percent body fat, while athletes usually cut that almost in half. High body fat can predispose you to hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis, heart disease and some cancers, said Professor Jenny Slawta, who operates the device. A combination of aerobic and weight-training workouts is the basic remedy, she said. Excessively low body fat, such as the under-10 percent levels of anorexics, is also unhealthy, leading to compromise of the immune and neurologic systems, she said. J.B. Schnieder, 48, Ashland, wanted to know his body fat (a respectable 21 percent) as he entered a workout regimen. SOU student Monica Doshier, 24, weighed in to see if she was on the right track with her running and weight workout drill - and to learn the hydrostatic system for members of her soccer team, of which she is assistant coach. "I'm not as bad as I thought, but, yes, there's room for improvement," said soaking wet SOU student Julie Reynolds, 21, whose body fat matched her age. "This is my winter hibernation measurement and it's inspiring me to maintain a healthy lifestyle of cardiovascular and resistance exercises." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.