Off The Scales and into the Tub

By Anastasia Toufexis

When Don Simpson checked into Tucson's Canyon Ranch Spa last year, he figured he needed to knock off a dozen pounds. The co-producer of Flashdance, Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop knew he "had a tendency to gain weight" after each movie. Still, the string of megahits had only managed to push the scale up to 199 lbs., not too far out of line, he thought, with the standardized chart readings for a 5-ft. 9-in. 40-year-old male. But Simpson got a rude shock when the spa analysis revealed what proportion of his weight was muscle and what fat. A puffy 31% was fat, a figure well above the levels judged acceptable by physiologists. "I freaked out," Simpson recalls. "I didn't realize I was that out of shape."

Now, after a year of intensive exercise and fastidious dieting, he is down to a sleek 155 lbs. Even better, he has trimmed his body fat to 10%. And he is intent on lowering it still further. Says Simpson, who scrupulously checks his body-fat percentage every six weeks: "This is a life change for me."

Step off the scales, America. You've got a new worry: body fat. Today fitness fanatics across the country are discovering what athletes and their trainers have long known: when it comes to fitness, what counts is not how much you weigh, but how much of you is fat. The FBI and the Secret Service as well as the Army and Navy routinely measure body fat in fitness evaluations. So do some local police and fire departments. At one health club in New York City, says Hair Stylist Kevin Mancuso, "instead of everyone competing to have the biggest build, we compete to reduce body fat." Declares Donald MacKay of Health Promotion Affiliates, which runs screening and education programs for New England corporations: "Percent body fat has become a catchphrase."

Some body fat is essential, of course. The yellowish globules, layered under the skin and packed around organs, cushion the body against injury, insulate it from cold and supply fuel to meet energy needs. Too much fat, however, increases the risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, among other afflictions. Establishing ideal body-fat percentages is difficult, since height, age, body frame and exercise are all factors. Generally, scientists agree that the normal range for men is 12% to 23% and for women 16% to 28%.

Fat can be measured in several ways. The most accurate and expensive method ($40 to $100 a test) is hydrostatic weighing, also known as the water- buoyancy test, in which a person sits on a special scale and is dunked into a vat of water. Because fat is lighter than water, a person weighs less underwater. The land and submerged weights are used to calculate body fat. Another method, called electrical-impedance testing, is based on the fact that fat content affects how well the body conducts electricity. Electrodes are attached to hands and feet, and a small current is applied briefly. Readings measure the amount of resistance to the current, and are used to determine the percentage of fat. The simplest and least expensive technique is the skin-fold test, in which calipers are used to measure pinches of skin at various sites, including the abdomen, thighs and back. One problem: the accuracy of the results varies with the skill of the measurer.

Devices are being designed that will allow fitness-conscious Americans to take precise readings on their own. This spring Futrex, in Gaithersburg, Md., plans to introduce a hand-held computerized analyzer. Borrowing technology developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to determine the nutritional content of meat and grain, the device beams near infrared light on the arm. As the light passes through the flesh, fat absorbs specific wavelengths; light emitted through the skin is then picked up by a detector. The computer translates the information into percent body fat. Cost of the device: around $300.

While applauding the growing emphasis on fat counts, physiologists caution ! that it is not the end-all and be-all. "You can have a good body-fat percentage and still be unfit," warns Dr. David Heber of the UCLA School of Medicine. Observes Exercise Physiologist Paul Davis of the Human Performance Center in Falls Church, Va.: "It's one-third of the fitness equation. The rest is muscular strength and flexibility and the aerobic capacity of the heart and lungs."

Experts point out that people who embark on a low fat-high exercise program in order to achieve a lean body may be surprised by one common result. Replacing fat with muscle often produces only a minor drop in weight, and sometimes even a gain. Patti O'Brien, 34, an editor in New York City who participates in triathlons, has reduced her body fat from 17% to about 11% over the past 18 months; she now weighs 132 lbs., only 3 lbs. less than before. Still, she does have a firmer, slimmer body. Says a jubilant O'Brien: "My clothing size has dropped from a tight ten to an easy eight."

With reporting by Scott Brown/ Los Angeles and Jeannie Ralston/New York