Was Babe Ruth Obese?
MeteoriteGuy
Posts: 7,140 ✭✭
in Sports Talk
This subject has came up on a different thread and made me curious.....so here are the numbers.
The body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. It is what doctors use to diagnos medical conditions related to weight.
This is figured by the forumla: BMI = lb * 703 / in2
According to baseballreference.com, Babe Ruth was 6' 2" and 215 lb. It does not give a reference to the weight/height, but it is likely the latest information they could find, meaning it likely comes from later in his career. Anyone with some Babe Ruth cards can verify this one way or another perhaps.
Anyway, this makes gives Babe Ruth a BMI of 27.6, which puts him in the upper end of "overweight", but does not fit the medical definition of obese.
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = 30 or greater
So to my surprize...Babe Ruth was not obese.
Clear Skies,
Mark
The body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. It is what doctors use to diagnos medical conditions related to weight.
This is figured by the forumla: BMI = lb * 703 / in2
According to baseballreference.com, Babe Ruth was 6' 2" and 215 lb. It does not give a reference to the weight/height, but it is likely the latest information they could find, meaning it likely comes from later in his career. Anyone with some Babe Ruth cards can verify this one way or another perhaps.
Anyway, this makes gives Babe Ruth a BMI of 27.6, which puts him in the upper end of "overweight", but does not fit the medical definition of obese.
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = 30 or greater
So to my surprize...Babe Ruth was not obese.
Clear Skies,
Mark
Collecting PSA graded Steve Young, Marcus Allen, Bret Saberhagen and 1980s Topps Cards.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
0
Comments
<< <i>The problem with the BMI is that it's a one size fits all answer that only takes height into account. It doesn't consider the varying skeletal frames of different individuals of the same height, let alone different propensities for muscle mass and other body considerations. If Babe Ruth were pretty much skin and bones, he probably would be at least 180-190 lbs. However, many people 6' 2" that are "skin and bones" could pull off 150-160 lbs. >>
I agree...but note, obese is a medical term with a medical definition, which is where I was going with this. I am sure we could likely get three medical experts here and they could point out problems in the chart as well. Reguardless, the above is what is used to define obesity, so by current medical definition, Ruth was not obese.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
I'm 6'-5" and 325, which makes me a 38.5 (according to a BMI calculator on the web).
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go jog...
<< <i>The body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. >>
Are you sure it is a measure of body fat, or perhaps it could it be a measure of body mass instead?
<< <i>
<< <i>The body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. >>
Are you sure it is a measure of body fat, or perhaps it could it be a measure of body mass instead? >>
From the Center of Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/
"Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person's weight and height. BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems."
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>According to THIS BMI calculator, I am overweight. Are you friggin kidding me?
neither you nor your dad look overweight.
<< <i>neither you nor your dad look overweight. >>
That was pretty darn funny right there.
<< <i>According to THIS BMI calculator, I am overweight. Are you friggin kidding me?
Why does Bobcat Goldthwait have his arms wrapped around that little boy?
<< <i>When you post a pic of yourself you basically are placing the ball on the tee. >>
Did you say placing the ball on the tee? Another pic of me. I don't care if people see my fat a$$.
I think he gets a bad rap because it was only later in his career (when he was a bit over weight) the cameras were more popular, thus more footage of him "livin' large" exsists making it seem that perhaps he was over weight his whole career.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
pitch, but he could field his position with the best of them.
<< <i>I'm not an expert, and the uniform is kinda baggy, but he doesn't look obese to my eyes.
I think he gets a bad rap because it was only later in his career (when he was a bit over weight) the cameras were more popular, thus more footage of him "livin' large" exsists making it seem that perhaps he was over weight his whole career. >>
His friggin shoulders and legs were HUGE ... which may have made him look "FAT". Take a look at his stomach in that pic ... pretty good shape as far as I can see!
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
Alot of that was myth for one thing and the guy could have been a HOF pitcher let alone the best hitter in MLB history. He was a great athlete for 95% of his career.
The man enjoyed life and was in fact bigger than life but that does not make him obese... perhaps well fed at best
Frankly in view of all of the crap in sports today, he should be appreciated even more
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
<< <i>So who was the rocket scientist who said he was obese in the first place
That was me, in an earlier thread on the World Cup.
Then, I asked...why?
What difference does it really have other than creating an end result that will merely place Ruth on even a higher pedestal and humiliate athletes that claim to be better when in fact they have had the benefit of all the things that have transpired since then?
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
<< <i>I thought about attempting to make the distinction between life, technology, medicine and all the differences between life then and today...
Then, I asked...why?
What difference does it really have other than creating an end result that will merely place Ruth on even a higher pedestal and humiliate athletes that claim to be better when in fact they have had the benefit of all the things that have transpired since then? >>
It might make interesting reading.
Although, I am not sure any of that would matter on if Babe Ruth was obese or not. Nor do I think it matters if the person is "big boned", stocky or whatever. All sound more like excuses why someone is big, overweight or obese.
I have never heard anyone say, "He's not small, he just has small bones."
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
This can be done with a body density test that involves suspending someone in water and measuring the amount of water displaced.
Doctors do not use the BMI for anything when treating overweight people. Its used and was developed by the insurance industry to try and limit liability on covering people with preexisting conditions like obesity.
Almost all NFL, NBA and Body Builders would test out as obese considering the amount of weight in muscle per their height.
<< <i>So who was the rocket scientist who said he was obese in the first place
Maybe not obese, but a fat-ass who wouldnt make the yankess farm team today.
<< <i>The problem with the BMI is that it's a one size fits all answer that only takes height into account. It doesn't consider the varying skeletal frames of different individuals of the same height, let alone different propensities for muscle mass and other body considerations. If Babe Ruth were pretty much skin and bones, he probably would be at least 180-190 lbs. However, many people 6' 2" that are "skin and bones" could pull off 150-160 lbs. >>
All the more reason I think that whole BMI thing is a joke.
D's: 54S,53P,50P,49S,45D+S,44S,43D,41S,40D+S,39D+S,38D+S,37D+S,36S,35D+S,all 16-34's
Q's: 52S,47S,46S,40S,39S,38S,37D+S,36D+S,35D,34D,32D+S
74T: 37,38,47,151,193,241,435,570,610,654,655 97 Finest silver: 115,135,139,145,310
73T:31,55,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,80,152,165,189,213,235,237,257,341,344,377,379,390,422,433,453,480,497,545,554,563,580,606,613,630
95 Ultra GM Sets: Golden Prospects,HR Kings,On-Base Leaders,Power Plus,RBI Kings,Rising Stars
The differences in nutrition, peoples body mass, height, were very different then. I.e., like the 3 stooges, those guys were short. Ruth at 6'2, 215 in the 20's or 30's would be like 6'4, 235 now.
<< <i>Look how much bigger he is than the catcher and umpire. He was a large man and he does not look fat at all. >>
Tried to watch an old baseball movie with Ruth in it "Pride of the Yankees(?)". The one thing that stood out was Ruth was HUGE compared to the average person, not fat (at a the time of the movie) just MUCH taller and bigger than the normal person.
Just like many of us, he got fat in his older years.
Babe was stocky but not obese. Obese guys couldn't play the way he did (both on and off the field)...
RIP Mom- 1932-2012