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U.S. women's rugby player dropped the mic on viewer who mocked her BMI

They're right, but it doesn't mean what people think.

@ilonamaher/Instagram

“BMI doesn’t tell you what I can do.”

It seems like at least once a year, the topic of “BMI,” or “body mass index,” being a flawed measuring system for fat mass and health comes up in conversation. Experts will explain how BMI leads to an incomplete perspective at best—since it doesn't take into consideration several key factors that influence a person’s body composition—and at worst, actual health risks, affecting eligibility for things like weight loss medications, insurance rates, joint-replacement surgery and fertility treatment. And then life moves forward.

And yet, despite the constant debunking, the belief in BMI still marches on. And this time, it was hurled at the USA rugby star and Olympian Ilona Maher. More specifically, someone commented “I bet that person has a 30% BMI” on one of Maher’s TikTok videos.

ilona maher, olympics, team usa, rugby, bmi, body weightBMI is not always an accurate measure of health.

Could this person have simply been pointing out the inherent flaw of BMI? Saying that Maher, an elite athlete, would be considered “overweight” using this system? Perhaps. But this is the internet we’re dealing with, so Maher (and others) interpreted it to be an insult.

And under that context, Maher wasn’t having it, and chose "not to just ignore the haters."

“Hi, thank you for this comment. I think you were trying to roast me, but this is actually a fact. I do have a BMI of 30. Well, 29.3 to be exact,” Maher said in response video…which became something of a roast itself.

Maher talked about how she had been considered “overweight” her entire life, and even recalled being “so embarrassed” to turn in a physical form to the office which had “overweight” written on it.

“I chatted with my dietician, because I go off facts, and not just what pops up here. You know, like you do.” she quipped while tapping her temples.

Maher is 5-ft.-10-in. and 200 lbs, which is considered “overweight” by BMI standards. But as she explained, about 170 of those 200 pounds are “lean muscle mass.”

“Do that math in your head…you probably can’t,” Maher said sarcastically.

It’s easy to see through this example how bogus BMI really is, especially for athletes.

Essentially, “BMI doesn’t tell you what I can do.”

“It doesn’t tell you what I can do on the field. How fit I am. It’s just a couple of numbers put together,” she said. “It doesn’t tell you how much muscle I have, or anything like that.”

Maher concluded by faux lamenting, “I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight. But alas, I am going to the Olympics, and you’re not.”

u.s. women's rugby, jill biden, 2024 olympics ilona maherThe U.S. women's rugby team with First Lady Jill Biden and members of the U.S. delegation to the 2024 Summer Olympic GamesThe White House/Public Domain

While Maher’s clapback was certainly satisfying, it also provided some much needed reassurance to folks. So many commented on how this outdated concept has affected (or still effects) their own body image of that of a loved one.

“How can I get my teenage daughter with a high BMI (but fit!) to understand this?! She feels shamed even at the doctor for her BMI.”

“Dancer here, I'll never forget at 13 being told I had the BMI of 24 of ‘overweight.’ I broke down and the nurse said it didn’t mean anything and all I could think was then WHY are you making me do this?!”


body weight, scale, BMIWeight and BMI can't say what we can do.Giphy

“I had to ask the doctor’s office to put a note on my child’s file to not bring up/talk about BMI in her check ups. It isn't an accurate representation of health!”

“Thank you for sharing your weight, bc seeing lbs numbers in different bodies has been so helpful in me loving mine. I’m nowhere near an athlete's body but damn, the numbers really do us in.”

Until a more affordable solution pops up, BMI will continue to rear its ugly head in doctor’s offices and in our psyches. Maybe this is a reminder that our bodies are so much more than height and weight every now and again is a good thing. And if it comes from an Olympian…even better.

Maher also shut down any notions that her BMI was high due to anything other than muscle with a Sports Illustrated cover shoot in August of 2024. Um, yeah.

Thin and fit are not the same thing. Thank you, Ilona Maher, for the powerful reminder.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Celebrity

Kate Winslet regrets not calling out 'bullying' journalists. Young women, please take note.

"If I could turn back the clock, I would have used my voice in a completely different way."

Photo credits: Maggie (Maggiejumps) (left) GabboT (right)

Kate Winslet reflects on how her younger self interacted with the media.

When you're a celebrity in the spotlight, especially if you're a woman, your looks are constantly placed under a microscope. Every wrinkle on your face, every pound you gain or lose, every time the paparazzi catches up to you on a bad hair day, it's all fodder for a hungry entertainment media machine that thrives on scrutinizing beauty.

Kate Winslet should know. As an actress who made a name for herself in Hollywood as a young woman, her body size and shape was often a topic of conversation. Winslet was 22 years old when she played the role of Rose in "Titanic," and she has said that the fame that followed that film was "horrible," largely because of the media attention and the pressure to look a certain way.

“Apparently I was too fat,” Winslet said in an interview on the "Happy Sad Confused" Podcast in 2022. “Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f--ing fat." Some media commentators were unabashed in their fat shaming, and commentary about her body went on for years.

Winslet expressed regret that she didn't push back more against "bullying" and "borderline abusive" journalists back in the day, and it's a good reminder for younger women today to use their voices to speak up when this kind of thing happens.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"If I could turn back the clock I would have used my voice in a completely different way," Winslet said. "I would have responded to journalists: 'Don't you dare treat me like this. I'm a young woman. My body's changing. I'm figuring it out. I'm deeply insecure. I'm terrified. Don't make this any harder than it already is.' That's bullying, you know, and actually, borderline abusive, I would say."

She said it's "getting better" but there's still a long ways to go. "Even if an actress walks out on a red carpet and happens to look amazing in whatever she's wearing, the fact that people will say, 'Looks honed and toned' or, dreadful word, 'svelte.' Don't even say it! It's such an irresponsible thing to do, and it feeds directly into young women aspiring to ideas of perfection that don't exist, aspiring to have bodies that the press are saying that we have."

kate winslet win GIF by BAFTAGiphy

Then she laid down the raw, real truth about those fancy red carpet events: "It's for one night and one night only that we're in that damn dress. And believe you me, mine comes straight off the second I'm in the car on the way home, and I'm in my pajamas, eating chips and farting. That's what we do!"

It's not always easy to know what to do or say in the moment when you are being mistreated, but hearing Winslet say what she wished she had said is a lesson for younger women everywhere. At the time, she may have felt helpless, but she wasn't. She had a voice and laments not using it.

Winslet also spoke to 60 minutes in 2024 and recalled the comments made about her on the red carpet during "Titanic" awards season, when journalists said she looked "a little melted and poured into that dress" and that she needed to have gotten one "two sizes larger."

“It’s absolutely appalling,” Winslet said. “What kind of a person must they be to do something like that to a young actress who’s just trying to figure it out?”

She said she did confront someone in the press face-to-face once, saying, "I hope this haunts you." Tearing up remembering that time, Winslet said, "It was a great moment. It was a great moment because it wasn't just for me. It was for all those people who were subjected to that level of harassment. It was horrific. It twas really bad."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Kudos to Kate Winslet for once again being a real one, reminding us that beauty is something far more than the way someone looks and that bullying or harassment of anyone, even people in the public eye, is never okay.

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Health

What do women do when no one is watching? These images sum it up nicely.

Realness is key in Sally Nixon's work.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

The wonderfully real world of women.

woman in striped orange shirt sipping soda through a straw against leafy background
Nixon's insight is simple and beautiful.Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

Well, take a look at Sally Nixon's illustrations and you'll see.

illustration of women looking at movies in a video store

Just girly things.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

The subjects in her artwork aren't aware we're looking at them.

woman sits on a bench and stares at her phone in a mall

Unbothered.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

And that's the point. They're living in a world free from the pressures that exist in the real one.

illustration of women relaxing on a blanket outside eating donuts

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

"I like drawing girls doing their everyday routine—just hanging out, not worried about what others are thinking," Nixon told Upworthy. "They're usually alone or with other girls. Their guard is down."

Editor's note: An image below contains partial nudity.

Capturing her subjects in this liberated light wasn't intentional at first, she explained.

woman sits on the toilet with her dog beside her

Mundane moments.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

But when she started a 365-day challenge in April in 2015 to create one art piece a day, the work started reflecting the nuances of her own life away from prying eyes— "I was kind of like, 'Oh, I'm brushing my teeth, so I'll draw that."— and a theme began to form. Her illustrations show how women look, away from the exhausting world where they're often judged more harshly than men.

illustrations of women having lunch outside against a red tile wall

Enjoying a drink.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

You also might notice none of the girls in her illustrations are smiling.

illustration of woman in her underwear sitting at the table spreading jam on bread

Because women aren't constantly smiling when they're on their own.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

According to Nixon, that's a deliberate choice.

"I don't sit around smiling to myself," Nixon said, noting the double standard that exists in thinking women should always appear cheerful. "I've been told, 'You need to smile more.' It's so infuriating. I wanted to show the way girls actually look, comfortably."

illustration of woman from the shoulders down standing at her open fridge

These works aim to capture slices of every day life, not posed moments.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

The theme of friendship is also an important one in Nixon's drawings.

illustration of two women sitting together on a couch with wine and cheese

In community.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

“I have four older sisters, so female friendship has always been a big part of my life," Nixon told The Huffington Post in 2016. “You gotta have someone to talk about periods with, and dudes just don't get it."

illustration of woman napping with her dog on her couch

Sometimes reality is a nap on the couch with your pup.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

Creating relatable scenes was key to Nixon, too — from the details of women's lives to the physical shapes of their bodies.

illustration of partially naked woman putting on pantyhose

Hidden moments and natural bodies.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

“It's important that the women I draw aren't rail thin with huge boobs," Nixon said. “I think there are enough images of bodies like that out in the world. The ladies I draw typically have small-ish, droopy breasts and thick thighs. They're kind of lumpy but in an attractive way. Just like real people."

The women in Nixon's work aren't real, but she hopes their stories are.

illustration of woman eating cake at kitchen counter

Let women eat cake.

Artwork courtesy of Sally Nixon, used with permission.

"One of my absolute favorite comments [on my work] is, 'Oh my God, it's me!'" she explained of the depictions. "There's a little bit of beauty in [everyday life] and I wanted to bring that out."

You can view more of Nixon's artwork on her website and check out her prints for purchase on Etsy.


This article originally appeared nine years ago.






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Men's Health

Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes says his 'dad bod' may be the key to his incredible success

This inspired other dudes to jump in with their own epic dad bod tales.

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Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes - Indianapolis Colts Ja… | Flickr

"That Dad Bod, man," Patrick Mahomes reportedly joked after he barreled his way into the end zone in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. According to an article by Rustin Dodd for The Athletic (owned by The New York Times), this is just one of many references to Mahomes's less-than-traditional athletic physique.

In the same article, Rams quarterback Matt Stafford's wife, Kelly, is quoted as having posted on Instagram, "Dad bod is a requirement to be an NFL QB. Show me a shredded QB, and I’ll show you a not very good QB.”

Patrick Mahomes Showtime GIF by Kansas City ChiefsGiphy

Clearly, Patrick and Matt are far from the only NFL superstar athletes without washboard abs—and this really is nothing new. From Peyton Manning to tight end Travis Kelce, the list is endless. Caleb Jones, an offensive tackle for the Patriots, weighs in at 370 pounds. Aaron Gibson, who once played OT for the Lions, Cowboys, Bears (oh my!) at one point weighed 410 pounds. (He's now retired and lost over 100 pounds to get healthier.)

But that's just football, where one could argue that a little more padding provides protection. Just recently, NBA player Luka Dončić got traded to the Lakers, despite his openly "unhealthy" lifestyle and being considered "overweight" by professional standards. Would he be a better player if he lost weight and stopped smoking? Not necessarily. Basketball stars through the years have often notoriously had "everyman" bodies and yet displayed amazing athleticism. And don't even get me started on baseball players.

Season 3 Baseball GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy

But some doctors warn that the dad bod (which is often used to describe men with a little extra weight in their midsections) can actually be a sign of poor health. Beer belly or just middle age, Dr. David Brill, in an article posted for the Cleveland Clinic, shares that a dad bod "left unchecked can lead to the three horsemen of the apocalypse: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar."

Ours de la fête des pères avec de la biè Photo stock libre ...www.publicdomainpictures.net

In any case, this growing (pun intended) trend of a little extra teddy-bear fat in our jocks is inspiring all kinds of dudes on TikTok. Like Chill Guy 1, who posed sadly for the camera writing, "Strangers on the internet have commented on my weight gain." Only to cut to a guttural scream, while shirtless. There he proudly states, "F the haters! Love yourself always."


@chillary_chilton

Never let someone elses opinion determine how you feel about your body #fitness #wegojim #gym #dadbod #bodypositivity #selflove

And Supdaily, who exclaims, "I love food" while patting his round stomach.


@supdaily

Dad bod check #suchascientist #gummygame #foryoupage #fyp #dadbod #dadbodchallenge #dadbodcheck

Don't forget Logan Pete, who uses his dad bod as merely the vessel to share this inspiring message: "Oh hey, just some dad advice for anyone who needs it. You are a good person. You're trying your hardest. Your brain is just a jerk that plays tricks on you and tells you things that aren't true. And you probably deserve a cookie."

@logan_pete_

You got this kiddo! #dad #dadsoftiktok #dadbod #dadjokes #daddy

Dad bod squads are all the rage, and it doesn't seem to matter if you're just a person on TikTok or Taylor Swift's boyfriend's bestie. Dr. Brill added, “A chiseled body doesn’t have to be the goal. But there’s a sweet spot to be found. You don’t have to be ripped to be healthy."

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