Ed van Amsterdam, RIP

[arpeejay]

http://www.facebook.com/arpeejay

[Meathead_UK]

Not another one........... he was always one of my faves-- met him twice-- a nice guy and such a body..... RIP big guy

[CelticMuscle]

Originally Posted by arpeejay

Well, that's being reported, anyway. An apparent heart attack, age 40.

http://forums.musculardevelopment.co...Amsterdam-Dead

xoxo

Richard

Confirmed by GMV Bodybuilding this morning and by Gary Strydom last night

[Big RR]

I was a long, long time huge fan of Ed! So sad! Lost another great!

[kezzz]

Many of the ones that have passed away recently are those pretty big/heavy tank set guys... I wonder if their size have adverse effect on them.. it's sad :-(

Just last night I finally learnt about Art Atwood's passing (old news) and now Ed. I also read about Marko's condition... *sigh*

[Yachirobi]

It is the size, sadly. While some guys can handle being 300 pounds, a lot of men are not meant to be that size forever. I'm no expert on the subject but I've long heard how bodybuilders get winded after walking up a few flights of stairs. A lot of this can be helped through cardio-exercise. A lot of the drugs and supplements out there are also contributors to these problems. I even suspect that some of this may come from training too heavily and putting too much strain on the body. There's also the sad possibility that some of these deaths would have happened no matter what, but I truly believe they were preventable.

Giant, muscular bodies will always capture my eyes and my heart, but the thought of the cost of those bodies is never far behind. Forum bodybuilders, please be careful with all that you do to get big. It's not worth dying for.

[/\/\usclekid]

More cardio won't help. These guys already do a lot of cardio. I suspect the main reason is biological. I can't think of any black bodybuilder that died before they were 55 years old. There is an overrepresentation of black bodybuilders at the top of the sport so there should be examples but there aren't. There must be a biological explanation why non-Africans have health issues or die. Muscles need a lot of blood to function. The stress of pumping blood to a very large muscular body could be too much for their hearts to handle. Average white males have 13% more fat around organs in their midsection than average black males. I suspect this might be key in why black bodybuilders have avoided serious issues. I think the accumulation of fat around organs is an issue with all non-black bodybuilders but since few non-Caucasian bodybuilders have gotten huge we haven't seen the complications.

[raven79]

Do you have proof of this Musclekid? That seems rather ridiculous to say unless you know something about this. While i wouldn't be surprised if blacks have some built in mechanism to have less fat, I wouldn't come out and say it unless I had information to back up the claims.

[Mdlftr]

Originally Posted by //usclekid

More cardio won't help. These guys already do a lot of cardio. I suspect the main reason is biological. I can't think of any black bodybuilder that died before they were 55 years old. There is an overrepresentation of black bodybuilders at the top of the sport so there should be examples but there aren't. There must be a biological explanation why non-Africans have health issues or die. Muscles need a lot of blood to function. The stress of pumping blood to a very large muscular body could be too much for their hearts to handle. Average white males have 13% more fat around organs in their midsection than average black males. I suspect this might be key in why black bodybuilders have avoided serious issues. I think the accumulation of fat around organs is an issue with all non-black bodybuilders but since few non-Caucasian bodybuilders have gotten huge we haven't seen the complications.

there are so many misstatements here I don't know where to start:
1. " but since few non-Caucasian bodybuilders have gotten huge we haven't seen the complications "
ANSWER: "huge non-Caucasian bodybuilder": Lee Haney, Mr. Olympia;
2. " I suspect this might be key in why black bodybuilders have avoided serious issues."
ANSWER: "black bodybuilders have avoided serious issues": James "Flex" Wheeler; renal failure leading to time on dialysis and a kidney transplant.


I'll see if I can find any support for your statement about "13% more fat around the midsection". That sounds so specific and "real", I'm wondering if there is a citation for it, or at least some statement somewhere to back it up.

Musclekid, the reason I'm pushing you on this, is because every time I hear someone stand on a soapbox and proclaim "biological differences due to race" about anyone, I immediately think, "Where's your proof of that statement?"

The concept of "race" is largely a social construct, rather than a scientific one, and is usually used to justify policies or positions that are otherwise undefensible or without justification.

I'm not saying that all your statements are complete hog wash. I'm just saying that you need to be careful to support your statements that you do make, particularly if you are stating them as "fact." If it's just your opinion, then say so. As in, "I think peoples of central and southern African origin have 'X' characteristic." Or, "In my opinion, peoples of northern European origin have 'Z' characteristic."

Mdlftr

http://www.bing.com/../indexes/images/search?q=...lectedIndex=18 This chart purports to show "average body fat for men by race". I don't see anything on here about greater percentages of abdominal fat for Caucasian males versus African American males.


http://www.halls.md/bmi/asia.htm This study purports to show that Asian men have higher bodyfat percentages than white men, for whatever that proves.

http://www.bing.com/../indexes/images/search?q=...electedIndex=7 Here are pictures of male and female graduate students at various bodyfat percentages.

[nnnrg]

The site states cause of death.

The gentleman had a pre-existing heart condition, that he was aware of, and his doctors had warned him that his bodybuilding lifestyle was putting an excessive strain on his heart.

He died of a heart attack.

[kezzz]

I know/heard of a young Asian bodybuilder amateur (mid-20s) died in sleep due to heart condition too... and he had known of his heart condition and few other health issue and took up bodybuilding as a way to help with his living. He did grew bigger and for a while he's healthy, fit and well build.

I think he lived 6 or 7 years of bodybuilding life until his passing earlier the year.

Great potential but alas the flesh could not keep up.

The irony of bodybuilding: build the body, yet died by the body.

[/\/\usclekid]

"But you can't tell just by looking at someone how much visceral fat someone has. Even a pot belly won't tell you for sure because visceral fat is deep within the body cavity..."

"At a given body fat percentage, black men and women had lower visceral fat than white men and women."

health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diabetes/articles/2009/12/18/blacks-have-less-bad-fat-than-whites

"For the study, researchers evaluated cardiac dual-source CT images of 411 age- and gender-matched African-American and white patients, quantifying thoracic fat volumes, including epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) - body fat that is in direct contact with the heart - and mediastinal adipose tissue, which is body fat within the chest cavity. Results showed that while the prevalence of significant stenosis, or narrowing of the coronary ducts, and plaque was similar in African-American and white patients, African-American patients had less fat around their hearts."

medicalnewstoday.com/releases/253316.php

I can't remember where I found the 13% number. I read it awhile ago. You have to remember bodybuilders consume a lot of food and many get their calories from fast food.

Lee Haney and Flex Wheeler competed after those situations. Flex even got bigger. Both are still alive today and still muscular.