don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Dedication:  Today’s essay is dedicated to Gold's Gym International, Inc. and its CEO, Gene LaMott. I'm a proud VIP member of Gold's, which has 2.5 million members in 27 countries and 44 US states. Worldwide, there are over 600 Gold's Gyms. Gold’s Gym continues to change lives by helping people achieve their individual potential. We think Mr. LaMott would approve of the sentiments expressed in this essay.

At 6 feet, three inches and 170 pounds, my BMI (body mass index) is 21.24, which puts me in the normal range. But, I exercise at least two hours daily and compete in road races and triathlons most weekends. Not everyone lives like this--what about normal, sensible people who have a life, responsibilities, a job and leisure interests? What are their chances of maintaining a healthy weight, based on official government charts? Want to find out how YOU score and be rated? (No, I did not mean "berated.") Go to http://www.consumerfreedom.com/games.cfm and fill in the blanks. Most people will discover that they are classified in the overweight (like 5:11, 191 pound George W. Bush) or obese (like 5:7, 201 pound Tom Cruise) categories. This fact and a number of recent books, articles and even an organized backlash by food marketers against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) and consumer advocates like the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have sparked a movement to debunk the idea that Americans are anywhere near as fat as they have been made out to be. 

What's the deal? Is there a myth about obesity or not? To paraphrase an old (1944) Louis Jordan tune "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby," let me ask, "Is we is or is we ain't as fat as they say we are?" 

It depends. It depends on whom you ask, what standards you choose to apply and what you mean by "fat" or "obese." 

Consider this: Using BMI standards, the following athlete celebrities (besides Tom Cruise and other normal-looking actor celebrities, such as Matt Damon, Will Smith and Bruce Willis.) all are obese (BMI of 30 or more).

• Mark McGuire (@ 6'5" and 250 pounds, a BMI of 30).
  
  
• Matt LeBlanc (@ 5'11" and 218 pounds, a BMI of 30).
  
  
• Donovan McNabb (@ 6'3" and 240 pounds, a BMI of 30).
  
  
• Steve McNair (@ 6'2" and 235 pounds, a BMI of 30).
  
  
• Dwayne Johnson (@ 6'5" and 275 pounds, a BMI of 33).
  
  
• Arnold Schwarzenegger (@ 6'2" and257 pounds, a BMI of 33).
  
  
• Sammy Sosa (@ 6'0" and 220 pounds, a BMI of 30).
  
  
• Sylvester Stallone (@ 5'9" and 228 pounds, a BMI of 34).
  
  
• Mike Tyson (@ 5'111/2 and 218-235 pounds, a BMI of 30-32).

While you might not recognize every one of these athlete celebrities, you probably have seen pictures of enough of them to know that these folks do not fit the image of obese people. What's more, they are or have been among the best athletes of their time. While it is likely that many Americans, no doubt more than ever before, are indeed obese (think Oprah Winfrey when not on a diet or in training to attempt one of her seven-hour marathons), most are not even close to what you or I would call fat. As emphasized, all the above listed professional athletes were in extraordinary physical condition at the weights shown after their respective heights. The fact that CDCP BMI standards would classify them as obese simply demonstrates how ridiculous it is to have only height and weight, not muscle mass calculations, as the basis for determinations of fit or fat.
 
Thus, the CDCP claim that 65 percent of Americans today are overweight or obese should be viewed with a bit of skepticism if not outright disdain. More on this can be seen in an excellent article published in the New York Times ("Fat Politics': Healthy Skepticism on Obesity," NY Times, November 4, 2005) and in a book by J. Eric Oliver entitled Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America's Obesity Epidemic (Oxford University Press, 2005). The latter shows that while "Pima Indians living in southern Arizona today are among the heaviest people in the world," they are fitter than most Americans. (Even the average woman tops 200 pounds.) 

Bottom line: Don't focus on weight as much as fitness. For that, muscle mass needs to be taken into account, which is not done in current BMI assessments. 

Be well. Always look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of exercise and fitness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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