Marie Osmond and Dancing with the Stars

Fainting on national TV is not for the fainthearted. Marie Osmond surely showed that she had the wits despite the lack of blood supply to her brain. About 20 seconds after the show cued for commercial, the 48-year-old star was back and blurted, "Oh Crap" and when the show went back to air, she was up and smiling waiting for their scores. There is indeed a great possibility that her gracious humor more than her actual fainting saved her from elimination last Tuesday night where billionaire Mark Cuban (and partner Kym Johnson) was sent home instead.

In her interviews, Marie Osmond blamed her fainting to a mixture of allergy, bad air (due to recent California wildfire), and emotional stress brought about by her recent divorce to husband of more than 20 years, Brian Blosil. During the show, she explained, "Once in a while that happens to me when I get winded. I stop breathing." On the other hand, Marie Osmond's fainting spell on Dancing with the Stars (Season 5, episode 5 performance night) can also be expected from anyone who goes through exhausting dance rehearsals, rigorous routines, and nerve-racking performances week after week.

A physical endurance test on contests such as Dancing with the Stars should be necessary to determine eligibility to participate. Because cardiovascular endurance means the ability of the heart and the lungs to deliver oxygen to the working muscles, it will mean the body can withstand strenuous activities and therefore prevent incidents like fainting.

Dance is one of the best forms of exercise. It stretches and strengthens the muscles, it lubricates the connective tissues and joints, it improves circulation throughout the body and brain, it gives the heart and lungs a total workout, and it burns those unwanted calories. It is definitely a healthy way to approach life because it makes you feel good about your body and yourself.

The truth is there is no age limit to dancing. Anyone can dance and depending on the type of dance, the body has different levels of stamina requirement. Stamina does not necessarily equal age wherein anyone above the age of 40 does not have enough to endure strenuous activities such as Latin Dances. Dancing with the Stars had older contestants before Marie Osmond and she is the first to faint. There was Leeza Gibbons (49), Vincent Pastore (61), and Wayne Newton (65). Then, there's Jane Seymour who is best remembered for her role as Elise McKenna in Somewhere in Time; at 56 years she's still putting up a good fight in the show.

Everyone else in the show, young and old, may experience fatigue to the extent of fainting. If standard precautions like regular visits to physician, healthy diet, vitamins, and good amount of rests are taken, it is unlikely that someone will follow Marie Osmond's fate. Who's the next best one to faint? Len Goodman - if he does not smile more often.