Congress may be facing shutdown
over an immigration bill, but what has the country in thrall? Donald
Trump's waistline. After his medical the doctors' verdict is he is
overweight. However, some intriguing questions have arisen almost
immediately.
Is he fat? Well ... the
obvious answer is yes. But how fat? To be obese or not to be, that is
the question (with apologies to the great bard). The doctors, or
whoever thought of the BMI (Body Mass Index),
have drawn an arbitrary line, one side of which one is a relatively
acceptable 'overweight', but weigh an ounce more and you are 'obese'.
What an awful word and definitely unacceptable to the vainglorious
Donald.
A word of explanation is in
order: The BMI is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the
person's height in meters squared. Thus the issue of height. One can
check out Trump's classification here.
Ferreters have unearthed a driver's license
recording his height as 6 ft. 2 ins. This has been confirmed because in
2012 Trump himself said he was 74 ins. tall. Then there is a photograph
showing him standing next to Barack Obama. They appear to be about the
same height and Obama is 6 ft. 1 in. No doubt, people do shrink as they
get older -- a question of what happens to the cushioning between
vertebrae -- and it's quite possible Mr. Trump has shrunk, but growing
an inch! The doctor reports he has 'incredible' genes -- the adjective
is certainly familiar -- but growing an inch in height in the seventh
decade is not just incredible, it is and would take a miracle.
Of
course there is another possibility. Intimidated, perhaps, the nurse
was afraid to disturb the carefully manipulated coiffure and that's the
cause of the extra height.
Just fat
or actually obese, it's all a matter of degree ... and quite arbitrary.
For the Donald it means he has to go cheeseburger free -- a fate worse
than working for Simon Legree.
