Back when I was in the army, you had to maintain a certain weight range (this is a peace time rule). I was always just on the cusp of being overweight which would put you on the "fat boy (girl) program". You were then ineligible for any positive personnel actions like school or promotion. At 5'1" I could weigh a maximum of something like 137 pounds. I weighed in at 138 so I had to be counseled by the staff surgeon. He talked to me about diet and exercise but then got out a tape measure and measured my head to hips and several other measurements including the length of my legs. Then the doctor (Colonel) said "You're not overweight, you're just too short". Apparently based on the length of my torso, my legs should be longer. I thought that was a a great way to justify my weight.