What do NCAA hoops stars Lonny Baxter of Maryland, Oklahoma’s Aaron McGhee, Kansas’s Nick Collision and Indiana’s Tom Coverdale all have in common? Pound for pound, the best players in college athletics are all Final Four fatties — “overweight” by federal government standards.
In fact, 16 players on Final Four teams fall into the government “overweight” category. Has this “Sweet 16” been eating too many sweets? No, they’re just the victims of a bizarre government weight measurement definition that gives new meaning to “March Madness.”
In 1998, the U.S. Government changed the standards by which Body Mass Index (BMI) is measured. As a result, close to 30 million Americans were shifted from a government-approved weight to the overweight and obese category — without gaining an ounce. At least the boys are in good company: the experts in Washington believe Michael Jordan is “overweight,” too.
And what does the government recommend for “overweight” individuals like these top athletes? More exercise!
