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After the release of details of President Trump's first medical, the internet is, predictably, awash with claims that his weight, and possibly height, are incorrectly reported.

Can these be verified by independent data?

For instance, a comment on BoingBoing states that

Apparently Jeb Bush is actually 6’ 3". Donald Trump appears to be several inches shorter in every picture of them together.

along with this picture:

enter image description here

Now, I will be the first to admit that BoingBoing has anti-Trump leanings. as do the majority of its commentators, BUT, are there any other photograph of him standing beside objects of known size which can be used to accurately determine his height (somehow taking into account his shoes)?

If so, is there any reasonably accurate method of examining photographs of a person of known height, estimating their bodily dimensions, and stating whether he probably is or is not (or cannot) weigh in the range of 239lbs?

Brythan
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Mawg says reinstate Monica
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  • "are there any other photograph of him standing beside objects of known size which can be used to accurately determine his height?" unless there is a photo of him standing next to a ruler (and not of the dictator type), no, you can only estimate, not "accurately determine" – Federico Jan 17 '18 at 09:21
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    Doors, for instance, are of standard height. I meant in buildings, but there are enough photos of him in the door way of Airfroce one. Or standing by people of known height. Of vehicles, or .. surely the ls is endless? You don't need a ruler int he picture (apart from the president), just something which has been accurately measured. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 17 '18 at 10:01
  • still, my point stands, with such a photo you could only estimate his height, not accurately determine. you would not be making a direct measurement. – Federico Jan 17 '18 at 10:03
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    I think that we split hairs here. Feel free to use your wording to answer the question. And least use something like "beyond a reasonable doubt" rather than 100% to 600 decimal places. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 17 '18 at 10:06
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    ["A Doctor’s Assessment of Whether Donald Trump’s Health Is ‘Excellent’"](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/us/politics/donald-trump-health.html), NYTimes (2016-09-18): **"_Mr. Trump is 6-foot-3 and weighs 236 pounds._"**. This might make for a better source of the claim. – Nat Jan 17 '18 at 10:31
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    @Nat it's also different from the question title (might've been a typo, but still) – Erik Jan 17 '18 at 11:15
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    @Erik: 3lbs in 1.3kg, which is in the range of normal fluctuations over 4 or 5 months since that assessment. – Oddthinking Jan 17 '18 at 11:59
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    @Oddthinking I just now noticed the NYTimes claim was older - I thought it was the same doctor. – Erik Jan 17 '18 at 12:09
  • If Jeb Bush is 6-3, most of those men are unusually short. Or the camera angle is unfavorable. –  Jan 17 '18 at 17:51
  • Jeb looks like he is stretching his neck in this picture. Perhaps he is also on tippy toes. – Clint Eastwood Jan 17 '18 at 19:15
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    I'm 6'2" and 239. Donald Trump is FAR fatter than I am. The weight is definitely wrong, IMO. – Tim Nevins Jan 17 '18 at 22:17
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    I’d feel more comfortable with notability if at least two unknown people on the internet are questioning his height. – Andrew Grimm Jan 18 '18 at 01:47
  • You forgot the [tag:sarcasm] tag ;-) – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 18 '18 at 07:05
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    @fredsbend I agree about the camera angle, it worried me too. However, Googling seems to find agreement that J. Bush is actually 6'3" If you Google for `Jeb Bush Trump` and look at images, there are very many of them together and all seem, to me, to have Bush taller, although by how much, I will not hazard a guess. However, a single inch, which looks more than credible, would make Trump obese ... – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 18 '18 at 07:15
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    @AndrewGrimm The [BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-42716443) and other news outlets are reporting it, so the girther movement is a thing, even if it's a silly thing – richardb Jan 19 '18 at 19:48
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    Being more fair to Trump than he deserves, I'll note that he tends to slouch (as seen in most pictures), and can no doubt stand an inch or so taller if he makes an effort not to. – Daniel R Hicks Jan 21 '18 at 15:46
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    Isn’t that picture from the day they saw Jeb Bush standing on his tiptoes to look taller than all the other candidates? I don’t think it’s a good source to base any claim on height (specially since it only shows from the waist up). – Alvaro Montoro Jan 27 '18 at 04:45
  • Even his official weight is now 244lbs – DJClayworth Oct 02 '20 at 22:32
  • Perhaps Covid-19 will help him to lose weight – Mawg says reinstate Monica Oct 02 '20 at 22:34

2 Answers2

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In short: Trump was never 6'3" (190.5cm) and his weight is probably higher than 239lb (108kg). He is much more likely 6' and obese.

Trump is definitely taller than average and was routinely photographed with people in his youth, suggesting the 6'2" (188cm) was probably a reasonable estimate of his height. CelebHeights, which estimates heights and identifies which celebs use lifts/exaggerate their height, puts his peak height at 6'2" (188cm).

Remember, most people will lose at least an inch or two (2-5cm) of height as they age, so a 71 year old is unlikely to be the same height they were in their 20s.

Donald Trump's Height:

6ft ½ in (184.2 cm)

Peak height was 6ft 2 (188cm)

He is quoted as saying in The New York Times, "Hey, I'm 6 foot 3". In his 2016 medical files, his Doctor claimed he was "6'3" tall and weighed in at 236 pounds, although when photographed with a 6ft 2 measured Athlete, that claim seems unbelievable. Trump's own Driving License listed him at 6ft 2.

It seems clear that from recent photos Trump can't be any taller than 6'1" (185cm) and is more likely roughly 6' (183cm). E.g. these photos with Obama who is listed at 6'1" enter image description here enter image description here

Trump's weight is harder to pin down, as he wears tailored clothes that hide his girth (because weight will fluctuate when campaigning). He is clearly overweight even with this visual aid. It is much more likely that he is obese, as he is on the record as saying he doesn't like to exercise, and isn't carrying much muscle, yet looks heavyset.

Recordings of the Dr Oz Scam, sorry, Show, had audience members citing two differing figures for Trump's weight during his appearance.

Trump said he currently weighs 236 pounds, according to two audience members. Other reports had audience members giving conflicting readouts, with some saying Trump put his weight at 267 pounds.

So he could be as heavy as 267lbs (121kg), which is not unbelievable. If his weight was 239lb (108kg), then combined with his revised height that can be easily evidenced, he is obese. At the heavier weight he would be Class II obese.

Tim Scanlon
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    Pictures seem to me to be an inaccurate way of gauging height, as they don't seem to take posture into account (i.e. when I stand up straight, I am nearly an inch higher). That said, I have seen pics of his Driver's License, which lists his height as 6'2", for what that's worth. – rougon Jan 24 '18 at 15:08
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    @rougon, I linked to the driver's license and included two photos. The second photo is probably impacted by Obama being closer to the camera, but both are pretty reflective that Trump isn't as tall as claimed (and probably never was). Please note that I also linked to a page that has many links to pictures that show Trump standing next to people to support the height estimate of ~6' (183cm). – Tim Scanlon Jan 25 '18 at 06:42
  • Using photo's of standing near other people is a useless metric for height. Among many factors, you don't know what shoes people are wearing. – NPSF3000 Jul 30 '19 at 23:53
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    @NPSF3000, that's why I provided more than just photos of people standing next to each other. And you've also missed the point of those photos. – Tim Scanlon Jul 31 '19 at 12:03
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For what it's worth, the Guardian cites a comparison with a sportsperson (who unlike politicians seems less likely to have his height "doctored"):

One image showed Trump standing next to former baseball player Alex Rodriguez, who is 6ft 3in. Rodriguez looked considerably taller.

(There's a photo in the article, but it's copyrighted by Getty, and they are really touchy about non-authorized reproductions of their wares, so head over to the Guardian if you want to see it.)

The Guardian article also mentions that Trump's height on his driver license was 6'2" not 6'3". I'm not sure how correct that is either because when I've got a US driving license I simply declared my height, nobody measured it (they could have cross-checked against my passport, but they didn't.)

The Guardian also says:

A photo of Trump next to Barack Obama, taken one year ago at Trump’s inauguration, seemed to show that the pair were of the same height. Obama is 6ft 1in.

The Guardian article also talks about Trumps' weight in comparison to athletes of similar height but this probably even less relevant health-wise because differences in muscularity are apparent and thus so is the body fat percentage.

There's an AOL article which seem to clarify the 6'2" vs 6'3" as 6'2.5", and it also says that Trumps' physician suggested he lose some weight:

Standing at 75 inches tall, or 6' 2.5", and weighing in at 239 pounds, Trump's weight places him at a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30.3, or, if his height is rounded up to 6' 3", 29.9.

Based on Trump's BMI, it is possible that he should consider losing 39 pounds, which would place him at a BMI of 25, right on the borderline of "normal weight" and "overweight" for someone of his height.

[discusses that BMI may be a poor measure of body fat]

Dr. Jackson said at Tuesday's briefing that after conducting last week's physical, he and the president set a goal of losing 10-15 pounds. If he kicks his notorious McDonald's habit, that target should be easily attainable.

Since weight varies a lot more than height over time in most people, I think it would much more difficult to confirm Trump's current weight...

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Fizz
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    I don't believe there's a document out there where my height was actually measured. Everything is simply my word. (I don't even think a doc has measured it recently enough for the records not to have been destroyed.) – Loren Pechtel Jan 20 '18 at 05:06
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    @LorenPechtel: It looks like not even the French check it either: http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~tpc/Papers/PassportTrace.pdf Also, upon further research, determining someone's height from casual photos (meaning taken at whatever angles/distance) is quite tricky: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19878415 – Fizz Jan 20 '18 at 11:12
  • @LorenPechtel - My height gets measured about once a year, during a medical checkup, and I assume it's recorded in my medical records. But of course these records would not be open to public examination. – Daniel R Hicks Jan 21 '18 at 15:43
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    @DanielRHicks It's been a long time since a doc measured my height. They normally just ask. I'm adult, male and not elderly, it's not likely to change. – Loren Pechtel Jan 21 '18 at 19:46
  • @LorenPechtel - Right there next to the scale in the doc's office is a measuring stick (whatever you call it). While I have my shoes off to be weighed, it's no great effort for them to measure my height. They don't do it every time, but maybe every other time. (I am "elderly", but they've been doing this for decades.) – Daniel R Hicks Jan 21 '18 at 23:09
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    I've seen the stick. It's not been used on me, but my wife has been measured occasionally. (Being female and post-menopause height loss is an issue.) – Loren Pechtel Jan 22 '18 at 01:00
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    '... a sportsperson (who unlike politicians seems less likely to have his height "doctored").' That's news to me! Anyone who regularly follows sports is likely to have heard height and weight statistics disputed for athletes (most especially basketball players it seems). – GreenMatt Jan 22 '18 at 15:24
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    "I simply declared my height, nobody measured it (they could have cross-checked against my passport, but they didn't.)": Did they actually measure you for your passport? – phoog Apr 23 '18 at 03:21
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    I've never had my height measured by a doctor as an adult (except possibly during Military Entrance Processing or the DOT physical when I started work at a trucking company; both were years ago). I've also self-declared height and weight for every passport and drivers' license I've obtained (U.S., Michigan). However, if I was really off (if I listed myself as 5'2" or 6'6", or 110lb, or 240lb; I'm about 5'11", 170lb), I suspect I'd have trouble using the ID documents with the false height/weight. – david Sep 11 '18 at 13:24