Under one heading, the do specifically call out elite athletes, &quot;whose job is exercising&quot; as a potential exception.<p>It&#x27;s also true that many endurance athletes are pretty careful about what they eat. My brother, who was a pretty good high school and college runner (5ks and 10ks especially), used to say he had a high body fat for a runner because he ate ice cream. His BMI? Maybe 20, 21 at most, and he was lifting weights back then.