Possible Reasons For Weight Loss

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31754, 10 August 1968, Page 6

Possible Reasons For Weight Loss

A correspondent who eigne himeelf R. R. B. hae given four reaeon* why the apprentice jockey, R. B. Weaver, could have loet l)Ib in weight between the time he weighed out to ride Mosque in the Grand National Steeplechase and weighed in again after the race.

R. R. B. wrote: “It appears to be uncommon for a jockey to weigh-in light after a race, and if he does so the rules of racing appear clear-cut. However, in my opinion it could be explained physiologically how the 18-year-old jockey “lost” Ijlb (0.68 kilograms) during his race tn the Grand National Steeplechase. “The weight lost is equivalent of 680 millilitres of fluid (approximately 24 fluid ounces), Possible factors affecting this jockey's fluid balance state could include:

“(1) Being young and nervous immediately before the race and after weighing out, he might have urinated once or twice.

“(2) Similarly he might have had a bowel motion or vomited as a stress reaction.

“(3) During seven minutes of vigorous exercise in a moderate winter temperature he might have lost several hundred millilitres of fluid. “(4) One form of drug therapy to cause wasting could have been diuretics. The action of these drugs

is to cause an increased urinary output, and therefore a reduction in total body water.

“These are just some points which I hope were considered from a physiological viewpoint in this particular case. It could have all been corrected by swallowing three Boz beers!’ When R. R. B.’s letter was referred to the honorary surgeon of the Canterbury Jockey Club (Mr J. K. Davidson) he said: “The correspondent’s reasoning as to the psysiological causes for the loss of weight is no doubt quite sound. However, according to the Rules of Racing the maximum ‘loss’ of weight allowable is 11b, whatever the cause may have been.”