Having seen my favorite former NBA basketball player Kobe put on some pounds, it made me think of the outdated and antiquated Body Measurement Index. I found an article from the Post answering the question, “Do you have a dad bod?”. There is a quick little flow chart of yes/no questions, but the crux of the deciding factor for a reader in determining if he has a dad bod is based on the BMI, which is still somehow used by the CDC. I say still because it is wildly simple. To find your BMI you would: (Your weight)/(height in inches)^2*703. For example if you were 5’10” and 200 it would be: 200/70*70*703 = 28.69, meaning you are overweight.
BMI Categories:
- <24 Normal
- 25-29 Overweight (The Post assumed this was Dad Bod category)
- 30-39 Obese
- >40 Extremely Obese
Take a listen at the below report done by NPR or take a look at the article to learn more on specifically why BMI falls short.
https://www.npr.org/player/embed/106268439/10626841
To continue to poke holes into this mathematical equation, I looked at the San Francisco 49ers roster (infographic below). I highlighted Ahmad Brooks in this infographic as he is well know and is considered overweight. The graphic is of averages only.
Of the 92 men listed on the roster I found the breakdown of Normal, Overweight, Obese, and Extremely obese as follows:
According to the BMI, 92% of all players on the 49ers are obese. That is insane. One player that probably should worry is D.J. Jones, who is categorized as ‘Extremely Obese’ with a 42.35 BMI. I don’t think it would take a BMI measurement to help him see that he may be at risk of unhealthy lifestyle as he is 6’1″ and 321 lbs. But the model doesn’t hold water. Consider the flip side with corner back Rashard Robinson. He is one just six players currently categorized as ‘Normal’ per the BMI requirements and also has the lowest BMI on the team of 23.35. He is 6’1″ 177 lbs. If he were to gain just 13 pounds and reach the weight of 190, he would creep into the realm of overweight.
While I might have targeted a specific sample set of large humans (49ers average roster height is +4″ taller and +45 lbs. larger than average US male), but the threshold to disprove a model just needs a few examples.
__________
Data taken from 49ers official website and a quick google search of “Average Height/Weight of US Male”.
