I cannot go that far. Genetics play a huge role. There are tons of people who would be considered overweight by the scale in you post that are very fit, healthy, and active at their weight.
We have a woman at our Nashville school that by every 'standard' is obese. But she outworks nearly everyone in class. She is a huge outdoor person who is hiking, running, and often competes in mud runs, marathons, even triathlons.
Simply put, her BMI or frame or 'big bones' just do not get in her way.
I do very much agree with not using "average" as the standard, especially in America. We have a bad habit of grading everything on a curve.
Conversely, the comparator cannot be only elite athletes.
Oh, I do agree - that's one reason I dislike the whole BMI system.
As I said in another thread - I know people who fall both sides (underweight or obese) who are in no way unhealthy - and I know people who fall within 'normal' who are far from anything approaching healthy.
But it's a useful illustration to challenge someone who reckons being right in the middle (and therefore under average) is a disadvantage. My contention is that it's pretty much the ideal starting point.
The other thing is that the woman you mention (and the people I know) are actually outliers. They're not 'elite', but nor are they 'normal'.
'Normal' is that the majority of people who are 200lbs+ carry that weight in their belly and butt and the majority who are underweight are very badly nourished. And that's where my statement of 200lbs=fat comes from - the average person that is 200lbs is undeniably fat. Being 6', 200lbs with sub 20% body fat makes that person an outlier.
But that's also part of my opinion on it - weight by itself, or even a weight/height ratio, means very very little. It's what the weight is made of that is the important thing.
As to genetics, it does have a part to play - some people are more prone to laying down fat than others. But, with proper care over diet it can be mitigated, most often entirely. The problem with that though is that sometimes it takes a massive amount of work to eat like that - I'm positive I couldn't.
Other people are built heavier with muscle (those outliers above) - unless they treat themselves badly they'll never get their weight down and nor should they try...
