Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Weighty issues

I've been toying with data on height and weight of professional cyclists for a while and I want to show you this graph:
Click to enlarge

Find yourself in that graph. How do you compare to the pros? (I originally put a data point representing me in the grah, but the comparison was too embarrassing, so I removed it.)

The lines show combinations of height and weight that give a constant BMI, so they are iso-BMI curves. Most pros have a BMI between 20 and 23, as you can see because most dots are between the two lines. To calculate your BMI, use this formula:

BMI = 703*(weight in pounds)/(height in inches^2)

In the metric system:

BMI = (weight in kg)/(height in meters^2)

Ladies: sorry, the graph is only for men. I don't have data on the weight and height of female riders.

2 comments:

cjb said...

That's a great chart. I've been obsessing the pros' heights and weights since I dropped some weight a few years ago. Now that I'm the exact size of Lemond in his prime, I'm sure my Le Tour victories will be coming soon.

Anyway to identify which pros you plotted?

Francisco said...

See data below. I got them from the UCI, a looong time ago. I don't know if they correspond to mid-season, beginning, or end of the season, or whether they're self-reported or measured directly by UCI doctors. So take them with a grain of salt.

I didn't choose these riders for any reason in particular.

Rebellin 67.08 147.6
Freire 66.69 138.8
Dekker 72.15 145.4
Boogerd 69.81 136.6
O'Grady 68.64 160.8
Flecha 70.59 158.6
Wesemann 67.47 158.6
M. Perdiguero 66.3 136.6
Zabel 68.64 152.0
Basso 70.59 154.2
Van Petegem 69.03 158.6
Cunego 70.2 143.2
Backstedt 75.27 198.2
Kessler 67.08 147.6
Astarloa 69.42 147.6
Hoste 71.37 154.2
Hincapie 74.49 182.8
Celestino 67.47 143.2
Hondo 71.76 160.8
Hoffman 72.93 176.2
Van Bon 68.64 156.4
Mazzoleni 70.98 160.8
Vinokourov 68.25 158.6
Valverde 69.42 134.4
Boonen 74.88 176.2
Ballan 73.71 149.8
Sinkewitz 69.42 147.6
Sanchez 68.25 143.2
Cancellara 72.54 171.8
Jaksche 72.15 165.2
Petacchi 72.15 154.2
Colom 75.27 156.4
Pozzato 71.37 158.6
Bettini 65.52 127.8
Evans 67.86 141.0
Kroon 70.2 147.6
Landis 69.42 149.8
Canada 68.64 134.4
Hushovd 71.37 178.4
Botero 68.25 158.6
Moreau 72.54 156.4
Paolini 67.86 145.4
Cunego 65.91 143.2
Eisel 71.37 163.0
Kashechkin 72.15 154.2
Bertagnoli 70.2 165.2
Azevedo 68.25 141.0
Cioni 72.15 158.6
Di Luca 65.52 134.4
Mancebo 68.25 141.0
Guesdon 72.15 160.8
Garzelli 68.25 143.2
Moos 68.25 154.2
Rubiera 70.2 149.8
McEwen 66.69 145.4
Menchov 69.42 147.6