'Obese' - and All Blacks

Four All Blacks in the starting line-up for tonight's clash against the Wallabies - including captain Richie McCaw - are officially obese and the rest are overweight, according to their Body Mass Index reading.

The formula was used in an OECD report released this week which puts New Zealand as the third-fattest nation in the world, after the United States and Mexico.

The New Zealand Herald calculated the BMI figure - a combination of height versus weight - of the All Blacks team before tonight's opening Tri-Nations rugby test in Auckland.

According to the New Zealand Heart Foundation website, people of European descent with a BMI figure between 25 and 30 are overweight, while those with a higher reading are obese.

Maori and Pacific Islanders with a figure between 26 and 32 are overweight and those with a higher reading are obese.

Every All Black had a figure of higher than 26.

The three starting front-row forwards - Neemia Tialata, Andrew Hore and Tony Woodcock - were all considered obese.

The heaviest, prop Tialata, had the highest BMI figure.

His 187cm height combined with his 127kg weight gave him a 36.31 BMI.

And the All Black captain, flanker Richie McCaw, was also considered obese with a BMI figure of 30.1.

Two others on the sideline tonight - Kevin Mealamu and Owen Franks - were also obese while the other five in the wings were overweight.

The lightest member of the team, fullback Cory Jane who weighs 88kg, had the lowest BMI at 26.27, but was still considered overweight.

Dr Robyn Toomath, of the Fight the Obesity Epidemic, said BMI should not be used to tell if an athlete was obese.

"Footballers are the classic example for whom the body mass index doesn't work.

"It would be a great shame if people tried to deny the existence of an obesity epidemic by focusing on these quirky little exceptions to the rule, such as how the measurements work for our elite sports people."