Babynjoe * A life in fashion

The Times Online reports that exercise and diet regimes favoured by the famous from Madonna to Elle MacPherson can do more harm than good.
Do daily 3 hour workouts help keep the flab at bay? Many experts claim that extreme exercise can put your health at risk.
Here is a passage from the Times report:
“Some celebrities are taking their workouts to dangerous levels,” says Dan Corbett, a personal trainer at Gymbox. “They work out to the point at which their body-fat levels become so low, there are signs of muscle wastage and fatigue.” Dr Jason Gill, of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, says that unless you are a professional athlete, you should expend a maximum of 3,000 calories a week through exercise — that’s the workout equivalent of walking, running or cycling three to five miles a day. Beyond that, he says, there are no proven benefits to health. “At best, you might reach a plateau in your fitness level if you overdo things,” he says. “If you do too much exercise and decrease your calorie intake, the consequences can be more dire.”
Women who reduce their body fat too drastically can risk from poor circulation and develop a fine layer of hair (lanugo) as the body tries to keep warm. Periods get disrupted as the body’s level of oestrogen, bone mass decreases and they may be in increased risk for developing osteoporosis.
Read more at: Times Online