BMI Says You’re Overweight. LeBron Says You’re Fine.

Written By Ace Kashir

If you’re a 6’1” Black man who weighs 210 pounds, BMI says you’re overweight.

But reality says you might look like Saquon Barkley, not someone who needs a diet.

This isn’t just a nitpick — it’s a fundamental flaw in how health is measured across racial and genetic lines. The Body Mass Index (BMI) has been used for decades to define “healthy weight.” But it doesn’t take into account something that makes a huge difference:

Muscle and bone density.

What BMI Gets Wrong

BMI is a simple formula:

Weight in kilograms / (height in meters squared)

It gives you a number, and that number puts you in one of five categories:

• Underweight

• Normal

• Overweight

• Obese

• Morbidly Obese

For a man who is 6’1” (185 cm), BMI says:

• Healthy = 140–189 lbs

• Overweight = 190–228 lbs

• Obese = 229+ lbs

So what happens when a 6’1” man is 210 pounds of solid muscle?

BMI still calls him overweight.

That’s where the problem starts — especially for Black men.

The Racial Bias in BMI

Black men, on average, have:

• Higher muscle mass

• Greater bone density

• Denser body frames

These factors increase total weight without increasing body fat. But BMI doesn’t see muscle. It doesn’t see strength. It just sees pounds.

So it ends up labeling a lot of strong, healthy Black men as overweight or obese, while praising thinner bodies that may actually have more fat and less muscle.

What 6’1” Actually Looks Like — Athlete Edition

Let’s use real bodies to make this crystal clear.

Ryan Gosling

170–180 lbs

Movie-fit, slim, low muscle mass

Russell Westbrook (NBA)

185–195 lbs

Lean, shredded, fast-twitch muscle

Christian McCaffrey (NFL)

200–210 lbs

Strong, muscular, agile

Young LeBron / Saquon Barkley

210–220 lbs

Dense, explosive, powerhouse

Now tell me:

Does Saquon Barkley look unhealthy?

Should young LeBron James have been told to lose weight?

Exactly.

What a “Healthy” Weight Should Really Be

If you adjust for muscle and bone density:

Black Males

175-215 lbs

White Males

165-200 lbs

Compare that to BMI’s suggestion of 140–189 lbs.

It’s no surprise that so many Black men fall into the “overweight” box — the system is built to mislabel them.

Conclusion: Muscle ≠ Fat

BMI is easy, cheap, and outdated. It doesn’t reflect real health. It doesn’t see the difference between a couch potato and a professional athlete — if they weigh the same, it treats them the same.

That’s not just bad science — that’s bad healthcare.

BMI would call LeBron James obese. Enough said.