What Is a Healthy Weight for Your Height?
A healthy weight is a range, not a single number. This page shows the range for every adult height and explains how to set a target you can actually keep.
Doctors define a healthy weight as the range that keeps an adult BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. Because BMI scales with height, the range is wider in pounds the taller you are: a 5 ft 2 in adult has about 32 pounds to play with, while a 6 ft 2 in adult has closer to 46. The table below spells out the numbers.
| Height | Range (lb) | Range (kg) | Midpoint (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 ft 10 in | 89 – 119 | 40 – 54 | 104 |
| 5 ft 0 in | 95 – 128 | 43 – 58 | 111 |
| 5 ft 2 in | 104 – 136 | 47 – 62 | 120 |
| 5 ft 4 in | 110 – 145 | 50 – 66 | 127 |
| 5 ft 6 in | 118 – 155 | 53 – 70 | 136 |
| 5 ft 8 in | 125 – 164 | 57 – 74 | 145 |
| 5 ft 10 in | 132 – 174 | 60 – 79 | 153 |
| 6 ft 0 in | 140 – 184 | 63 – 83 | 162 |
| 6 ft 2 in | 148 – 194 | 67 – 88 | 171 |
| 6 ft 4 in | 156 – 205 | 71 – 93 | 181 |
Aim for the range, not the bottom of it
The most common mistake is treating the lowest number in the range as the goal. Nothing about human health improves as you approach 18.5, and being at the very bottom of the range leaves no margin for illness or stress. Landing anywhere in the middle of your range gives you the same health benefit with far more room to live.
The 10 percent rule
If your goal is to lose weight, aim to drop about 10 percent of your current body weight first, then reassess. Losing 5 to 10 percent of your weight already improves blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol in most people who carry extra weight. Chasing a large target from day one is the fastest route to quitting.
When weight alone is the wrong target
- You lift weights or play a sport that builds muscle.
- You are over 65 and have lost muscle with age, which BMI misreads as healthy.
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- You have a condition that affects fluid retention, such as heart or kidney disease.
- You are under 20 and still growing.
In each of these cases, weight by itself tells you less than waist circumference, body composition or how your clothes fit. Bring the question to a doctor rather than a chart.
How to measure consistently
Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom and before eating, wearing as little as possible. Do it two or three times a week and track the weekly average, not the daily number. Body weight swings several pounds a day with sodium, carbohydrates, hydration and hormones, so a single heavy morning means very little. A trend over three to four weeks is what tells you whether anything is changing.
Ready to check where you stand now? The BMI calculator shows your healthy range and the exact number of pounds between you and it.