Steve, have you lost weight? Analyzing the Apple chief's BMI

Steve Jobs and the new iPhone he unveiled Monday are facing the same question: How thin are they really?

First, people wondered whether the iPhone 3G was thinner or fatter than its predecessor. Answer: thinner on the edges and thicker in the middle.

Now, it's Jobs' turn. The buzz at the Apple developer conference and on blogs afterward was that the 53-year-old CEO looked much more gaunt than in previous public appearances. His physique inspired some major speculation about whether Jobs, who battled pancreatic cancer in 2003, was again suffering from health troubles.

After his keynote address, investors and Apple fans scrutinized Jobs' appearance almost as closely as they did the new iPhone. One tech analyst (who declined to be named out of fear of angering Apple) told me that after seeing photos of Jobs from the event, his clients were so worried that they searched the Web for old pictures of him. Their conclusion: If he were a boxer, he'd be fighting in a lower weight class.

Turns out, Jobs has been a little sick, according to an Apple spokeswoman.  She said he was recovering from a "common bug that he got two weeks ago" and was taking antibiotics. "He didn't want to miss" the developers conference, she said.

It's a sign of Apple's rocket success and Jobs' importance to the company that people discuss his health as if he were gunning for the White House. But is it fair to Jobs and his family? One could argue that he has the right to a private life -- except when it concerns the fate of the company to which he is so inextricably tied. After all, this is a man who closely controls every decision Apple makes and has overseen its restoration to the ranks of the world's finest technology companies.

But does that mean people have a right to know his current body mass index? (Eyeballing him, I would put it at 19.)

Old anxieties about Jobs and his health were fanned earlier this year after a Fortune magazine story described how Jobs and Apple's board hid his cancer diagnosis for months while he fought the disease. Jobs was lucky and beat the cancer after an operation. But the silence of the board didn't give investors and Apple fans any comfort that the company would disclose the information if Jobs were to become sick again.

For now, the official word is that Jobs is like his new iPhone: Thin at the edges, but still robust.

--  Michelle Quinn

Photo, right: Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Monday in San Francisco. Credit: Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times

Photo, left: Jobs at an Apple store in Palo Alto in June 2007 with wife Laurene Powell. Credit: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press

Comments

[John Doherty]

I am a doctor and happen to know lots about this stuff...

On one hand I agree with the sentiments that you should allow the guy his dignity etc... On the other hand - I like many other Apple followers (not cult) have immense respect for Steve we admire his achievements in technology. It is that bond that makes many of us think of him as 'Apple'. He is the heart and soul of the company and I like maky others consider him irreplacable. I reckon that is also demonstrated by the low quality input from other exec members of the company (see June 9th Keynote). Steve just knows how to instantly grab your attention and thats one of the things that has me hooked...

It is sad however that he / the company seem to want to keep the public in the dark and quite frankly lie to us. We are concerned about him - thats all!

For my tuppence worth, I think it highly likely that he has recurrent metastatic disease. I would'nt be surprised if the Chest CT MIMVISTA showed on the iPhone was his and not Johnny Appleseeds'. There is a big tumour on the R upper lung segment.

The bettle with cancer is a long and arduous one. I hope that Steve and his family cope as best they can with it. They will have my thoughts and prayers.

John

[john]

Jobs is now on a vegan/veggie diet. The big difference from the pictures is the beards. Beards always make your face look fatter. Take the second picture, remove the beard, and not too off from the first pic.

[abdul rahim]

For my tuppence worth, I think it highly likely that he has recurrent metastatic disease. I would'nt be surprised if the Chest CT MIMVISTA showed on the iPhone was his and not Johnny Appleseeds'. There is a big tumour on the R upper lung segment.

[end]

Surely, he wouldn't post his own cancerous image for the world to see like this?

[Clydene]

I will start this off with - Why Can't You Leave This Man Alone. Until you have someone go through this disease you really don't know what it is like. My mother died from pancreatic cancer; in horrible pain and thowing up her stomach lining at end.... just leave the man alone. It is none of your business. It is great he got early treatment, but unless he wants to share this with the world you should all just stop.

[MUNGO JERRY]

YA CAN'T BE TOO RICH, OR TOO THIN.....