Washington, DC – If someone claimed that the majority of the NFL’s defensive linemen were a bit heavy, few of us would be shocked. At the same time, most of us would laugh if we were told that Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Daunte Culpepper, and Corey Dillon were officially, obese. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, however, claims that they are.
Relying on the flawed government measure of overweight and obesity, the Body Mass Index (BMI), University of North Carolina endocrinologist Joyce Harp found that a full 97% of NFL players are overweight while 56% are obese. This is because BMI uses only height and weight and fails to take into account muscle mass. According to her fumbled study, men that can run the 40-yard dash in under five seconds are just too heavy.
Other football superstars like Tom Brady, Deion Branch, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss are classified as overweight. In the ‘scramble’ to push an anti-obesity agenda, some of the best athletes to ever have played the game are being categorized as “fat.”
These NFL players are in very good company. The NBA, MLB, and even the U.S. Olympic Team are dominated by supposedly tubby teammates. As ridiculous as it sounds, Lebron James, Alex Rodriguez, and US Swimmer Gary Hall Jr. all qualify as overweight. These superstars, along with many ordinary Americans, have fallen victim to this same flawed BMI standard, which is also the basis for the government’s claim that 65% of Americans today are overweight or obese. Using BMI as a measure of fitness has led to the greatly exaggerated “obesity epidemic” in the U.S. today and has become the foundation for frivolous obesity lawsuits and knee-jerk policy making.
“Like so many other flawed obesity statistics, the penalty flag should be thrown on this ridiculous study,” said Dan Mindus Senior Analyst at the Center for Consumer Freedom. “Suggesting that finely tuned athletes like Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair are contributing to the so-called ‘obesity epidemic’ should prompt anyone to blow the whistle.”
Does the government think you’re fat? Take the test at Click here to take the test. Plug in your height and weight to get an instant verdict on how you stack up against the USA’s best athletes.
