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Ezekiel Elliott was Obese for the 2019 Season. Why BMI for Athletes May Not Be Correct.

Ezekiel Elliott has always been in under public scrutiny, due to his weight, but a recent picture released with fat-shamers were out in full force. In the picture, he was wearing black shirt with a awkward upward angle.

Curious on this issue, we decided to use the heights and weights of players to calculate BMI of each star player for the 2019 season using the metrics listed on the NFL.com player profiles. We then classified each athlete based on World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

Using this method, every NFL star is at least overweight. The WHO criteria is based on a metric called Body Mass Index which is a calculation using the height and weight of an individual. According to the WHO, BMI 25 or above indicates “overweight”; a BMI of 30 or more indicates clinical obesity. See the table below to find your favorite star and his classification. Note that by using this approach,  Russell Wilson and Saquon Barkley, is clinically obese.

*For mobile users, scroll to the right to continue viewing each table column*

Team Star Player Height Weight BMI WHO Classification
Arizona Cardinals Kyler Murray 5’10” 207 29.7 Overweight
Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan 6’4″ 217 26.4 Overweight
Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson 6’2″ 212 27.2 Overweight
Buffalo Bills Josh Allen 6’5″ 237 28.1 Overweight
Carolina Panthers Christian McCaffrey 5’11″ 205 28.6 Overweight
Chicago Bears Mitchell Trubisky 6’2″ 215 27.6 Overweight
Cincinnati Bengals Andy Dalton 6’2″ 216 27.7 Overweight
Cleveland Browns Baker Mayfield 6’1″ 215 28.4 Overweight
Dallas Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott 6’0″ 228 30.9 Obese
Denver Broncos Joe Flacco 6’6″ 245 28.3 Overweight
Detroit Lions Matthew Stafford 6’3″ 226 28.2 Overweight
Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers 6’2″ 225 28.9 Overweight
Houston Texans Deshaun Watson 6’2″ 220 28.2 Overweight
Indianapolis Colts Jacoby Brissett 6’4″ 238 29.0 Overweight
Jacksonville Jaguars Gardner Minshew II 6’1″ 225 29.7 Overweight
Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 6’3″ 230 28.7 Overweight
Los Angeles Chargers Philip Rivers 6’5″ 228 27.0 Overweight
Los Angeles Rams Jared Goff 6’4″ 215 26.2 Overweight
Miami Dolphins Ryan Fitzpatrick 6’2″ 228 29.3 Overweight
Minnesota Vikings Kirk Cousins 6’3″ 210 26.2 Overweight
New England Patriots Tom Brady 6’4″ 225 27.4 Overweight
New Orleans Saints Drew Brees 6’0″ 209 28.3 Overweight
New York Giants Saquon Barkley 5’11″ 233 32.5 Obese
New York Jets Sam Darnold 6’3″ 225 28.1 Overweight
Oakland Raiders Derek Carr 6’3″ 215 26.9 Overweight
Philadelphia Eagles Carson Wentz 6’5″ 237 28.1 Overweight
Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 6’5″ 240 28.5 Overweight
San Francisco 49ers Jimmy Garoppolo 6’2″ 225 28.9 Overweight
Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson 5’11” 215 30.0 Obese
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jameis Winston 6’4″ 231 28.1 Overweight
Tennessee Titans Ryan Tannehill 6’4″ 216 26.3 Overweight
Washington Redskins Dwayne Haskins 6’4″ 230 28.0 Overweight

 

We at Onsite Health Diagnostics believe it is important for everyone to understand the nuances of biometric measurements. The gentlemen listed are professional athletes playing a game where strength is paramount, and in order to qualify to play their position, they must carry more muscle mass per pound of body weight than normal men.

Body Mass Index is, therefore, not sufficient on its own to indicate the health of these gentlemen. In order to better understand their health, we would need other factors such as a waist measurement. Our suspicion is that their waist measurements would show that these men are perfectly healthy.

The same applies to any man who has a high percentage of muscle mass. With the increasing popularity of testosterone treatments among middle aged men, this phenomenon may apply to you or someone you know. Make sure that your health is being evaluated in a fair manner by taking the time to understand the details behind any health measurement you receive from your doctor or your workplace wellness initiative.

For additional information on Onsite Health Diagnostics please click here.

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