A Trump-Machado Weigh Off

During the debate Hillary Clinton criticized Donald Trump for calling the 1996 Miss Universe winner, Alicia Machado, "Miss Piggy." Instead of letting this go, Trump went on the warpath the next day. Calling in to Fox News he kept repeating, like a broken record, that her weight was a "real problem, a real problem."

Okay, let's have a look at this "problem."

When Machado gained weight during her reign as Miss Universe, Trump got angry. He said she ballooned up to "160, 170 lbs." She says she gained 10-20 lbs. Other articles say she gained 40 lbs.

So instead of bickering about numbers, let's take a look at the photographic evidence. Here's a photo from the workout that Trump actually invited reporters to, in order to embarrass Machado into losing weight. This was from the time when Trump called her "Miss Piggy."

Now, does that woman look grossly overweight? No. She's jumping rope, and looks completely normal. In this one workout she probably burned more calories than Donald Trump has burned since college, when he reportedly stopped exercising because he thinks exercise will kill you. The most exercise he gets these days is waddling from his golf cart to his limousine.

Now, let's have a look at Donald Trump. He usually wears suits, which are specially constructed to obscure men's weight problems. But there are pictures of him cheating at golf wearing golf clothes, so this is the best we can do.

To put it politely, Trump is a porker. When he went on the Dr. Oz show, Trump claimed to be 6'3" and 236 lbs. Not surprisingly, Trump lied about his height: he's actually 6'2", based on previous reports and comparisons between Trump's height an numerous other people whose heights we do know for sure.

The lie about the height is important. If you go to your favorite BMI (body mass index) calculator and enter Trump's claimed height and weight of 6'3" and 236 lbs, it comes out to 29.5, or overweight. If you input Trump's actual height, 6'2", it comes out 30.3: obese.

Trump's weight has variously been reported as high as 251 and 267 lbs, though his doctor claims Trump has lost 15 lbs in the last year. Sure, that's possible.

Weight is a very touchy issue. Human bodies evolved to store as much fat as possible as a hedge against starvation. This helped our ancestors on the plains of Africa and the ice-bound reaches of northern Europe. But it plays hell with our metabolism in calorie-rich modern America. It's really hard to keep weight off if you're under stress, not getting enough sleep or exercise, traveling, and eating fast food. (Various chemicals introduced into the environment that simulate estrogens and other hormones are also playing a role in the epidemic of obesity the Western world faces.)

So I try not to judge people by their weight, especially when they're trying their hardest to do all the right things. But Donald Trump isn't trying: he doesn't exercise, he doesn't get enough sleep, and he eats junk food. He's fat because he loves to eat and just sits around.

In other words, he's doing the same thing that he accused Alicia Machado of. Now, you might say, Trump isn't trying to be Miss Universe, he's running for president. Trump's campaign keeps bringing up questions of Clinton's health and stamina.

There are numerous studies that indicate exercise improve brain function and memory. It's not a coincidence that both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama were quite diligent in making sure they get enough exercise.

With Trump so obese and sedentary, he is just not going to be as mentally sharp as someone who exercsies, and he is at a much higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

But, like the pig calling the hen fat, he still has the gall to this day to complain about Alicia Machado's weight problems.

I think one final picture, the cover of next week's New Yorker, explains everything there is to know about Donald Trump:

"Miss Congeniality"