Testing provides some answers for the fat conscious

 Amy Phillips, Staff Writer

 "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fattest of them all?"

 If you've ever asked this question to yourself and the mirror has not been so kind, then don't risk seven years of bad luck.  Save breaking the glass and do something productive.
 
 The first step is getting a more reliable source than a mirror and finding out where you actually are now with your fitness level,  so that you'll know where to go from here.

 There's a program here at Appalachian State University that can help you do just that.  Some things are better left unknown, but that's not the case with your fitness level.
 
 Last year, Appalachian State University's Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science began giving a test called the Community Testing Program.
 
 It is basically the same kind of test you could take in a hospital for about $300.  Obviously, though, that's a little steep for students.  So, they are offering this test to Appalachian State University students for $35 (faculty members can take it for $70, and members of the community can take it for $100).

 "What we'd like you to leave here with is what your ideal weight is, what your body fat percentage is and what kind of aerobics program is right for you," Brindley Garner, a research assistant in the program, said.

 After seeing the flyers posted all over the campus, this reporter decides to give it a shot.  Walking into the Human Performance Lab, I expect to find Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory complete with a Jacob's ladder.  How wrong I am.  It is actually a very comfortable, friendly place with a few treadmills, a mat, some technical equipment and a water tank for the Hydrostatic Weighing.
 
 Waiting there to greet me is the director, Dr. David Nieman, and his research assistants, Brindley Garner, Melanie Austin, Jannica Hjertman and Lori Shores.

 Before any testing begins, I fill out confidential consent and health history forms.

 Then we begin the fun.  The first test called Resting Metabolic Rate.  It measures how many calories a person's body needs to sustain itself at rest.
 
 Brindley Garner, a graduate student in Exercise Science, said, "If you were lying in bed watching television all day, (this tells us) how many calories would cause you to neither gain nor lose weight."

 I lie down on a mat that is sitting on a treadmill, and a mask is placed over my face.  This astronaut helmet-type bubble hooks me up to the machine.  The assistant turns off the lights, and I lie still for about 20 minutes.  I accidently almost fall asleep it's so quiet in there.

 Next comes the Body Composition test, where I have a choice of how I want my body fat measured.  How about in negative numbers?  Well, no.

 There are three different ways to measure.  One way involves a person standing on a scale.  An assistant enters the data, such as height and weight, and it measures body fat by his impedence.  It's called Bioelectrical Impedence.

 Another way is the Hydroelectrical Weighing.  This is the most accurate test and is considered the "gold standard."  A bathing suit and a towel are needed for this test.  Basically, a person sits down on the chair that is connected to a scale, and he lowers himself under the water.  While under there, he blows out all his air.  This makes him heavier in the water.  Once all the air is out, he rises out of the water.  This is repeated five or six times.  Don't worry!  The water is warm.

 The third way is the way I chose, the Skin Folds method.  I stand in the back room and disrobe a little bit.  An assistant takes a skin fold caliper and measures seven sites: the chest, the abdominal, the thigh, the triceps, the suprailiac, the mid-axillary, and the subscapular.  It's the perfect one for those of us who believe that if we were meant to swim, we'd have flippers.

 Last, but not least, is the EKG Treadmill test.  I have to be prepped for the test, so I stand patiently in the back room while assistants put electrodes all over me.   I walk out to the treadmill to be hooked up to the machine.  My blood pressure is taken, and everything is okay.  Then, I put a mouthpiece in my mouth which I must hold  throughout the entire test.  The purpose of these uncomfortable things is to see how my heart is working and how I'm breathing while exercising.

 The treadmill starts and I begin to walk.  It starts out slowly and gradually becomes faster, while the incline becomes steeper.  The objective is to go as long as you can.  I don't get very far.  Athletically-challenged me never makes it past walking.

 After the test, I receive a printout of how my heart is working.  This can be helpful later on in life if you develop heart problems.   Because of this, the committee isn't allowed to test people with heart problems, so you must be healthy to take this test.

 The Human Performance Lab is located in room 206 in the Varsity Gym, and the program is open to everyone.
 
 

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