Posted on 11/03/2005 7:17:06 AM PST by sitetest
Habitual and enthusiastic singers may be more predisposed to put on weight because exertions in the lungs act as a trigger for their appetite.
A new study suggests that hormones released during singing may be responsible for the excess weight common among opera singers.
Peter Osin, consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital, suggests the mechanism of singing encourages the lung cells to release chemicals including leptin, a protein made by the body's fat cells that is involved in the regulation of appetite.
(C) 2005 Evening Standard - London. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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So I can blame my previous obesity problem on playing the trumpet? Maybe I can sue the college I got my music degree from...
Frederica von Stade must be the exception to prove the rule...
I expect that I should sing better than I do.
Holy cow, that's Flicka these days? WOW!
Just a couple of examples showing that opera singers need not be too fat. Of course, one does need some lung power to sing.
What about Renee Fleming?
OK, I couldn't find a picture of a young Roberta Peters though.
Kiri Te Kanawa is tall, but not that heavy. Jessye Norman, on the other hand...
Just this week, I heard a wonderful mezzo (Alice Coote--it was her Met debut) singing Cherubino in Le Nozze and she was quite slender. Obese, buxom women don't really make it as Cherubino. Heavenly voice. Best voice in the cast, IMO.
Baloney!! I knew an opera singer, fairly tanky. She could not afford to exercise too much (she suggested) because body bulk gave the best accoustics. I also have heard the skinniest soprano sing the most beautiful aria ever. I think it's baloney.
I did see one opera in which the well-padded heroine rolled onto her back like a pillbug and could not get up. for a moment. due to her bulk. A scene which will forever be etched in my brain.
(a musician).
Dear bboop,
I'll just point out that the article merely said that vigorous singing promotes a chemical that increases appetite. That does not inevitably lead to heft.
sitetest
Right. The skinny ones may be bullemic.
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