How Much Am I Supposed to Weigh?

There is no simple answer to how much you are supposed to weigh. Since muscle weighs more than fat, you can weigh the same as another person and wear a different size of clothing. Also, your weight is only one factor in determining your overall health. Following is an explanation of several factors than can determine if your weight is a healthy weight for you.

A chart that will give you a range of the right weight for your height. There are charts at doctor’s offices and online that can give you a pretty good idea if you have anything to be concerned about.

Here is a sample of some of the ranges of weight according to height for adults (from a chart distributed by Weight Watchers).

• 5'2" - 109 to 137
• 5'3” - 113 to 141
• 5'4” - 117 to 146
• 5'5” - 120 to 150
• 5'6” - 124 to 155
• 5'7" - 128 to 160
• 5'8" - 132 to 164
• 5'9" - 135 to 169
• 5'10" - 139 to 174
• 5'11" - 143 to 179
• 6'0" - 147 to 184
• 6'1" - 152 to 189
• 6'2" - 156 to 195

There is a large range of weights for each height, so you can take into account the following factors:

• Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Your Waist Hip Ratio (WHR)
• Your age
• The amount of muscle in your body
• The size of your frame

If you consider your Body Mass Index, your Waist Hip Ratio, and look at a chart of weight ranges for each height, you will have a very good idea of any health concerns you need to address. 

Knowing Your Healthy Weight

When determing your idea weight, there are several things to consider:

• Amount of muscle and fat in your body
• Your overall shape
• Condition and size of your bones

Each factor will give you an idea of a healthy weight for you, but each has drawbacks. 

Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index, or BMI, takes your weight and your height and gives you a number. If you are below 18.5, you are underweight, from 18.5 to 24.9 you are a normal weight, from 25.0 to 29.9 you are overweight, and 30.0 or over you are considered to be obese. The higher your BMI, the more at risk you are for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases. The drawbacks of this method is it does not take into account the extra muscle mass of athletes (muscle weighs more than fat) and it can underestimate the amount of fat in older people who have lost muscle mass.

Waist Hip Ratio

Another indicator of health is the Waist Hip Ratio, or WHR. Studies have shown that the more weight you have around your midsection, the higher your risk of cardiovascular problems. It predicts this kind of health problem better than the BMI because it takes into account your body structure.

To get your WHR, you measure your waist right above your navel and divide that by the measurement of your hips at their largest. For a man, anything over 1.0 shows a high risk for heart related problems, and for a woman, anything over 0.9 is cause for concern. 

Other Factors to Consider

Another thing to consider is age. As you get older, you lose muscle mass. Also, if you have osteoporosis, your bones will weigh less than they did previously. The size of your bones is also a factor because some people have a larger frame than others.

These factors are not as significant and BMI and WHR, but they need to be included in an overall assessment of your health and determining your ideal weight for your height.