Have you guys heard of the model news, from Madrid and Milan? They're restricting how thin you can be to be a model - if you're too thin, you're out! It was in the newspapers again this week. Here's a good article on it on the web: "Is ultra-thin going out of fashion? By Laura Smith-Spark BBC News British model Lily Cole has attracted attention for her waif-like build You can never be too rich or too thin, or so the saying goes. But moves at major catwalk shows to stem the use of underweight models suggest the tide may be turning." - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5384106.stm BMI stands for body mass index. It says here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5297790.stm how you can caluculate it, and there is a graph of it too: If you want to use the chart, to convert pounds to kilograms, just multiply pounds by 0.4536. Here's how the BMI math works: "Divide your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres, or divide your weight in pounds by the square of your height in inches, then multiply by 703." You can also use this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/bmiimperial_index.shtml for it to calculate it for you. It's really interesting, a lot of the gymnasts probably have BMI's that are in the underweight category of this chart.

Svetlana Khorkina prob. was totally off the chart for being too thin / underweight for her height - no offense against her tho - she was fun to watch and a great gymnast, but some more weight would have looked nicer on her - maybe she's one of those types that have that natural weight type...or maybe she was watching her weight too much.

we did bmi /%body fat in health last year. It was interesting. I definitely think that Khorkina would look a little better w/ a little more weight.

Alos, does anyone read teen vogue?There's a good article in the december/january issue.

cool, thanks! :D I got the IG magazine this month too (cool Worlds info). The Gym Chat ad was in it!

Nastia Liukin is actually in the underweight category according to this BMI article and to the specs. on her in a Newsweek article: 5'2" and 92 pounds. Article: "Gymnastics: Nastia Liukin The leggy daughter of two champions is vaulting toward the Beijing Games." - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16240605/site/newsweek/

...you could kind of guess that. same with Khorkina and a lot of the other really thin gymnasts. Khorkina did do some modeling though, according to ABC!

I calculated liukin's BMI cuz I was bored. It was 16.67. That's really underweight considering that the underweight category starts at a/b 18.5 Mine was 18.05. If I was a model in Madrid, I would have barely made the cut. that's amusing for me to think a/b. ALthough I am WAY too short to model- only around 5'4''. lol

Shayla Worley is somewhere in between 17.97 and 18.58 more towards the first number tho cuz it says in an article that she's barely 5'0" and the first number is calc. at 5'0" and the second number is for 4'11", at 92 pounds. i don't think you have to worry too much about bmi tho - as long as you're eating right, exercising right...b/c there are diff. body types and also the bmi does change dep on how much muscle you have as well, which i dont think it really takes it into account...and how athletic and how much exercise you do. here's the article on Shayla btw: "Gymnast Shayla Worley aiming for Beijing Olympics" - http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/local/orl-worley0807may08,0,5145249.story?track=rss ...she used to do modeling too lol. her gymnastics coach Jeff Wood, from when Shayla was 8: [quote]"Shayla is by far the most talented gymnast I've ever seen," Wood says. "I knew it as soon as I saw her walk across the floor for the first time. She was like a cat. I said, 'Look at this little skinny thing over here.' You could just tell she was extraordinary."[/quote] my coach does that too - looks at the little girls and says o this one has a good body...she can be a good gymnast...must be kind of like how Bela Karolyi picked out his team. what i think - the gymnast's heart - that's what can make the big difference. they don't paint Shayla in a very good light, but esp. not her coach: [quote]Wood, a hard-nosed coach who is not afraid to raise his voice and make his girls cry, says everything that Shayla does this year is in preparation for 2008.[/quote]