Woman On Drastic Diet Featured In Health Pageant

Stacy Riggiola, whose drastic diet and exercise regimen angered a number of health professionals in the Inland Northwest last fall, will appear in the national Fitness America Pageant on ESPN at 4:30 p.m. today.

Riggiola appears only briefly in this taped version of the pageant because she did not place in the top 20 contestants. Shortly before she was scheduled to fly to Redondo Beach, Calif., for the November competition, she discovered she was pregnant.

Her goal had been to enter the contest at 8 percent body fat, a dangerously low level. Because of the pregnancy, she dropped her drastic regimen, and entered the contest at 10 percent body fat.

The ideal level for most women is 18 to 22 percent.

Riggiola’s baby is due in June and she has already gained 20 pounds. The pregnancy appears to be progressing normally. Riggiola continues to work out, but she has turned down an offer to appear in an ESPN fitness series.

Her physician, Dr. P.Z. Pearce, says he didn’t particularly agree with Riggiola’s fitness regimen, which involved five-hour daily workouts and a 900- to 1,200-calorie diet.

“It’s like a reflection of the pressure of society in general on women,” Pearce said.

, DataTimes