Skip to main content
TALL TALES

Is Ryan’s Body-Fat Claim Exaggerated?

Only very elite athletes have 6 to 8 percent body fat.

cheats/2012/09/18/is-ryan-s-body-fat-claim-exaggerated/ryan-fat-body-cheat_p4ntnf

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Looks like Paul Ryan might have a fitness-exaggeration problem. First his claim of a three-hour marathon was debunked, and now it looks like the P90X devotee could have exaggerated his claim that he has only 6 to 8 percent body fat. According to a report in Slate, only very elite athletes can maintain that level of body fat—even Olympic swimmers have 9.5 percent body fat. Even if Ryan had reached 6 to 8 percent body fat at some point, at least one expert points out that it’s very, very hard to stay at that level—and possibly dangerous to one’s health. A Ryan spokeswoman did not respond for comment.

Read it at Slate

TRENDING NOW