Final answer:
It is true that an athlete can appear overweight by height and weight standards while maintaining low or optimal body fat, due to the higher muscle mass which can lead to a misleading BMI classification.
Step-by-step explanation:
An athlete can be overweight according to standardized height and weight tables but have optimal or even low body fat levels. This statement is true. Standard height and weight tables often fail to take into account an individual's body composition, especially in athletes, who may have a high muscle mass.
A commonly used measurement, the Body Mass Index (BMI), can sometimes overestimate body fat in muscular individuals because BMI only considers height and weight, not the composition of that weight. Muscle tissue is denser and weighs more than fat tissue, which can lead to athletes being categorized as overweight or obese by BMI standards, despite having a healthy or low level of body fat. Therefore, BMI is not always an accurate reflection of body fat percentage or an individual's health.