Olympic rugby star claps back at body shamer on Instagram

Ilona Maher, a rugby player from the USA, won a bronze medal with her team at the Olympics in Paris. Under one of her Instagram posts, a comment criticizing her weight appeared. The internet user quickly got a response.

Ilona Maher has been encouraging her fans to accept their bodies for years. So it's no surprise that she decided to react when one of the internet users pointed out her obesity. The rugby player highlighted a specific detail.

Many people feel invincible on the internet. They also have no qualms about writing something mean under someone's post. Ilona Maher experienced this recently when an internet user criticized her size. The rugby player did not leave this jab unanswered.

"I think you were trying to roast me, but this actually is a fact. I do have a BMI of 30 — well, 29.3 to be more exact," said the athlete.

BMI is a body mass index, which is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in meters squared. It's worth noting that people with a BMI below 18.5 are considered underweight. Conversely, a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal weight. Any value above that is considered overweight.

The rugby player used the negative comment to draw her fans' attention to the fact that the BMI index does not really apply well to athletes. After all, it does not account for muscle mass, bone density, or even overall body composition.

"BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do. It doesn’t tell you what I do on the field, how fit I am" she emphasized.