The dancer's dilemma: how to be healthy and thin.

HERE'S HOW TO CONTROL YOUR WEIGHT SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY TO AVOID THE POTENTIAL PITFALLS OF DIETING.

Ideally, the outstanding dancer combines musicality and physical grace with an astonishing technique, but the first thing the audience notices is - the body. That is why even well-established professionals worry about their weight. Dancers are supposed to be lean, yet dancing does not always burn a lot of calories, and dieting rarely works for long. In fact, dancers who diet extensively may lower their metabolism, become fatigued, and ultimately destroy their health.

Surveys indicate that professional female dancers are considerably thinner than the general population of women, whereas male dancers approach the norm for men. This focus on extreme leanness forms the basis for the ideal woman's body in ballet today, with greater latitude given to modern and Broadway performers. Men have less rigid standards to meet: they must be muscular and look physically fit. Aspiring ballet dancers should know - and professionals should never forget - that trying to meet extreme "standards" may harm their health.

HEIGHT-WEIGHT RELATIONSHIPS

       Females                         Males

Height               Weight         Height            Weight

5[feet]              108 lb      5[feet] 5[inches]    138 lb
5[feet] 1[inch]      112 lb      5[feet] 6[inches]    142 lb
5[feet] 2[inches]    116 lb      5[feet] 7[inches]    146 lb
5[feet] 3[inche]     119 lb      5[feet] 8[inches]    149 lb
5[feet] 4[inches]    123 lb      5[feet] 9[inches]    153 lb
5[feet] 5[inches]    126 lb      5[feet] 10[inches]   157 lb
5[feet] 6[inches]    129 lb      5[feet] 11[inches]   161 lb
5[feet] 7[inches]    133 lb      6[feet]              165 lb
5[feet] 8[inches]    137 lb      6[feet] 1[inch]      169 lb
5[feet] 9[inches]    141 lb      6[feet] 2[inches]    173 lb
5[feet] 10[inches]   144 lb      6[feet] 3[inches]    177 lb
5[feet] 11[inches]   147 lb      6[feet] 4[inches]    182 lb

SELECTION AND TRAINING

It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to look at a student dance class and tell who will make it to professional status. Dancers literally mold their "instrument" through years of classes. For example, your making the repetitive movements of the grand plie will slowly carve out niches in the fronts of your ankles. From taking class your ligaments and tendons will be stretched, and your bones will increase in density. Puberty may also be delayed past the average age (approximately twelve), particularly for students who start their training during early childhood. While there are exceptions to every role, this delay tends to be associated with a longer, leaner body.

Your genetic makeup also affects your development. Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Albert Stunkard and colleagues indicate that family-line resemblances in weight can run as high as 70 percent. Furthermore, this relation is not confined to the obesity weight class, but is present across the whole range of body fatness, from very thin to very fat. This does not mean that diet and exercise are unimportant in determining weight - in fact, they can be extremely effective! However, it is clear that genetic endowment plays a significant role in your eventual body shape and size.

It is important to remember that there is no such thing as a "magic number" on the scale. Dancers often get into the habit of comparing themselves to other dancers in their quest for the "perfect" body. This is usually a sign of insecurity and rarely helps, because everyone carries his or her weight differently. Still, it is possible to get a general idea of where your weight stands in comparison to population tables that depict weight-height relationships.

For example, a female dancer five feet nine inches tall weighing 127 pounds can from the table below determine that she is 10 percent below her ideal weight for height (divide real weight by ideal). According to various surveys of women, this is within the normal range for most ballet dancers (10 to 15 percent below ideal), whereas modern dancers are closer to 6 percent below. In the previous example, this would amount to 133 pounds for a woman modern dancer five feet nine inches tall. A male dancer in either style would normally hover a few pounds below his ideal weight of 153 pounds at the same height. All dancers should be aware that more than 15 percent below ideal is anorexic weight and should be avoided.

Unfortunately, as many dancers are aware, a thin body is rarely achieved through exercise alone. Although dancing is physically demanding, it is not an aerobic activity, and a one-hour dance class burns only 200 to 300 calories. Dieting remains the most popular way to lose weight; but with often disappointing, even unfortunate results.

THE PERILS OF DIETING

Research on dieting suggests that dramatically cutting back on calories can lead to a number of adverse reactions. These effects, which vary from person to person, are thought to be due to the body's attempt to defend its natural weight against "attack." It is like having an internal thermostat that regulates weight instead of temperature. If your "set point" hovers at 130 pounds, your body will do its best to keep you there by regulating your activity level, metabolic rate, and perceptions of hunger. Given these circumstances, it is not surprising that dieting is often accompanied by such psychological distress as irritability and even depression.

What other kinds of problems can arise? Well, we now know that crash diets can lead to a high incidence of episodic binge eating, muscle loss, fatigue, and a marked deterioration in performance. The dieter's resting metabolic rate may also slow down as much as 45 percent, making it harder to lose weight as time goes by. If the urge to eat wins out and you regain the weight, you may have a greater percentage of fat because muscle gain is very slow.

Repeated cycles of weight loss and weight gain (known as the yo-yo effect) only make matters worse. Studies indicate that it can take twice the amount of time to lose the regained weight and only one-third the time to regain it again. Long-term complications include menstrual irregularities, which are associated with a decrease in bone density and stress fractures. So while you may have started your diet with the best intentions, the results can be far from gratifying.

A SENSIBLE APPROACH TO WEIGHT LOSS

It is possible to approach weight loss in a healthier way. An effective program is based on aerobic exercise, which is actually thought to lower your set point for weight. This type of exercise will affect your metabolic rate, since the energy generated by your muscles can increase nearly 120 times with vigorous exercise. (The best time to eat is after maximal exercise during the so-called afterglow.) In addition, regular aerobic exercise brings about enzymatic changes that facilitate fat metabolism, while boosting your stamina.

Try to work out three to five times per week for thirty to forty-five minutes by biking, taking an aerobics class, or using the StairMaster. Swimming may also be good, although there is some question about its increasing your appetite as a way to maintain fat insulation in cold water. Caution: Remember to choose an activity that places the least amount of stress on your body if you have a physical problem, such as a bad back. If you want to increase lean muscle, which is metabolically more active than fat, you can also incorporate weight-resistant exercise into your regime, such as the Pilates-based method, to keep you from losing lean tissue.

The next step is to plan a balanced diet that includes a blend of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, as well as vitamin and mineral supplements. Complex carbohydrates, such as vegetables and whole grains, comprise one of the best energy sources for dancers and should compose approximately 60 percent of your diet. You may find this confusing because of the negative attention that carbohydrates have recently received in the media. However, this applies only to insulin-resistant dieters, who represent about 25 percent of the population and who tend to be overweight by normal standards. This is rarely the case for dancers.

INTAKE OF FAT AND CALORIES

Daily intake should be no more than 1,400 to 1,800 calories and 25 to 40 grams of fat. If you go below these levels, your body may eventually rebel, and you will overeat. It will also try to correct your diet by convening carbohydrates into saturated fat (the worst kind!).

You should also consume between 1,200 and 1,500 mg of calcium to protect your bones; consuming too much caffeine can interfere with this process. A licensed dietitian can assist you in choosing wisely. Habits are difficult to change, so give yourself time to adjust.

It is not possible to reduce fat selectively at a specific body site by "spot" exercising. Your number of fat cells is fixed, and you can only reduce your weight as a whole. Also, if you decide to go off the diet on a special occasion, try to eat food that contains little dietary fat (it is more easily converted to body fat, some weight-loss specialists believe). Low-fat substitutes, such as frozen yogurt, can be just as satisfying. But do not eliminate all fat; it is an important nutrient and slows the rate of digestion.

Finally, try not to give up after only a couple of weeks, because short periods of dieting affect your body's carbohydrate stores and result primarily in water loss. It will take three weeks before 85 percent of your lost weight is body fat. Meanwhile, it is important to drink a lot of water up to eight glasses daily is recommended - to prevent dehydration.

RESULTS TO AIM FOR

You should not try to lose more than two pounds a week. Weekly weigh-ins - never daily! - will give an accurate idea of your progress. However, dancers who reduce their daily food intake by only 100 calories while increasing their energy expenditure by 100 calories (the equivalent of jogging daily for one mile) should lose twenty-one pounds in one year. Obviously, this example is meant to illustrate how effective a sensible approach can be, since most dancers would not need to lose this much weight.

The difficulty is adjusting to a maintenance program that you can live with. If bad eating habits have become entrenched, you might consider joining a support group or program such as Weight Watchers. Remember, it is normal to experience plateaus and setbacks, particularly if you eat for emotional reasons. Dancers - men and women - may feel ineffective after failed attempts to produce the desired look. Fortunately, it is possible to get better results by working with rather than against your body. Exercise, combined with a sensible dietary plan, is the most effective approach to weight loss.

Linda Hamilton, Ph.D., a former member of New York City Ballet, is a clinical psychologist