This is a question I hear quite often. Do I weigh too much? How much should I weigh for my height and age? Of course you could just look at yourself in the mirror and make your own judgement, but for health reasons it may be important to know what’s normal and what’s not for your age.
Then, if you find out that you are too heavy for your height and age, you can do something about it.
The Body Mass Index
The Body Mass Index or BMI is generally used to measure human body fat based on an individual’s weight and height. Body mass index is defined as the individual’s body weight divided by the square of his or her height.
The below graph shows what the normal measurements would be (both in pounds and kilograms). The aim of course is to end up in the normal range!
Measure your BMI
Just enter your age, sex and height and you will automatically discover in which range you are.
Is this information reliable?
In most cases, your BMI score will give you an easy and quick indicator of your “fatness” or “thinness”. However, the results from the BMI test are not always accurate and should not be relied upon as an authority for medical diagnosis.
Some people tend to have a lot of muscles (which tend to weigh heavier) and for those people a completely wrong BMI range could result.
Your BMI socre will, however, give you a good indicator and if you have any doubts or concerns, see your physician.
How important is a healthy weight?
A healthy body weight is not just about looking good, it is actually very important for your overall wellbeing.
Being overweight puts you at risk of many chronic and potentially lethal diseases, like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke and gall bladder disease to name but a few.
Being underweight is just as unhealthy and can lead to a number of health complications, some of them life-threatening. Have a look at some of the comments below, where myself and others give suggestions on how to help with this.
So do the test and find out how much you should weigh. And if you’re overweight or underweight, I hope that you will take the time to do something about it to optimise your health. It is well worth it!
I now believe that sugars are the main culprit for excess weight so I wrote about how to quit sugar. Order Sarah Wilson’s “How I quit sugar’ books to get you started!
Want more convincing that sugar and carbohydrates are the main culprits to your weight gain then read how to lose weight through cutting carbohydrates.
For older articles on this topic and to learn how I have managed to keep a steady weight throughout my life, you can check out my article on how to lose weight with healthy eating and drinking habits or read my husband’s 26 rules for losing weight without diets.
If you can’t do it alone and you want help, you may also be interested in a program by Jon Gabriel who teaches how you can lose weight without dieting holistically.
If you are happy with your extra weight or cannot get the pounds off then I have a very good article from Georgette on how to dress when you have curves.
p.s. This weight calculator is for adults and is for information purposes only. Weight calculator may not represent your real life weight situation and you should consult a medical professional for expert advise and before you start a diet or exercising regimen.
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Hi Sylvia,
I’m a 5’6″, 16 year old female who weighs 115lbs at the moment. According to the BMI calculator, I am in the “healthy weight” zone, and possibly teetering toward the “underweight” category. I would like to know if this is an okay weight for my height and age, and possibly how much weight I have room to gain. Thanks!
It sounds like you have a way to go before you need to worry Essa. The chart is a good indicator, although if you have doubts it’s always best to check with a doctor, as every person is different.
Hello Essa,
I’m 23 now. My height is 5’7″ and my weight tends to stay within the range of 125-130lb whenever I don’t exercise. However, when I was 14 I took Martial Arts 2x a week and weighed 115 lb. I was very healthy. So I don’t think weight alone is all you should focus on.
Diet is a big factor to consider. Are you eating healthy foods? A lot of veggies? If so, then your weight makes sense. Vegans, for instance, tend to be very slim. There are exceptions, of course, but certain healthy diets can keep you really skinny. Meanwhile, other healthy diets may keep you only relatively slim instead of “very slim”. Also, everyone’s body is unique and works differently. Foods react differently for different people. Some people can process grains very well, while grains might cause another person to pack on the pounds. It’s possible that your body is extremely efficient and naturally keeps off weight better than most bodies do. The best thing to do is to continue eating healthy foods that fuel you.
If you’re exercising, that could be something else to take in consideration. You might be exercising without knowing it. Maybe you dance a lot in your room or with friends, family, a significant other, etc. Maybe you have short daily sprints in order to catch the bus or get to class on time. This might also mean you run/speed walk up steps. You might be taking gym class in school. Especially when combined with a healthy diet (and genetics), if you’re getting small amounts of exercise on a regular basis then your weight might stay around 115 lb, which isn’t anything to worry about.
Stress also can cause people to lose (or gain) weight. If your diet isn’t healthy (tons of candy, chips, pizza, fast food, junk food, etc.) and you don’t really exercise, and you are undergoing a lot of stress in your life (academic, family, friendship drama, significant other, etc.) — then your weight might be due (at least partially) to stress. This wouldn’t be ideal or healthy for you. Although you can work on handling stress, it would be even more important to improve your diet. Exercise might be healthy for your mood, but I would say diet is most important. When weight loss is due to stress, I believe it’s very easy to be prone to malnutrition. Your body might not do a good job at absorbing nutrients from foods because your whole system is depressed, so you want to help your body out by modifying your diet to something healthy. Lots of veggies!! More fruits as snacks instead of candy, soda, or chips. Find high quality carbs like quinoa or brown rice. You might even want to take supplement pills. They aren’t very expensive and they are at least a little beneficial to the body.
There are a lot of considerations to take into account. As long as it seems that you’re doing everything right, then I don’t think you should worry about your weight. Just focus on maintaing a good diet and work on adding the habit of light exercise in your daily life to keep your inner body in shape (i.e. cardio). Staying healthy overall is the best way to stay worry-free!
If you begin to lose weight, then you might want to see a doctor to investigate what’s going on. You might have to modify your diet to include more of certain types of foods to keep your weight on. If you’re exercising more than usual, you might have to raise your calorie intake to prevent losing weight. There are a lot of useful calculators online, but you can also check with a doctor to help create a nutrition guideline for you.
Personally, I think a good weight range for you is 115-130 lb.
Once again, I’m 5’7″ so I have an inch on you. I feel my best when I’m 125-128lb. I found that I feel chubby and gross whenever I weigh around 130 lb., so I would say that you probably wouldn’t enjoy weighing more than that even if it’s consider to be healthy. This is because your body is naturally slim so you might not feel comfortable with that weight on you.
What matters is if you feel healthy.
I am 85 years old, living in a nursing home. Weight is now 11st.3lbs. I never eat any sugar or chocolate or cow’s milk or butter. How can I lose weight?
Hi Jean. That is very tough for me to say. At that age other health issues may play a part in weight gain. Also I’m not sure if you are still able to do exercize? I think it would be best to talk to a doctor or nutritionist about this. Good luck!
Hi I have been trying now for 9 months to loose weight. I do exercise everyother day for 1-2 hours and I walk 2 & 1/2 miles daily with my dogs. Although I have lost 20 pounds my BMI is still really high. Am I doing something wrong I don’t want to use pilss or diet methods I want to do it naturally so I dont crave foods given up quickly. Any ideas? Thank you.
Hi Kelly. It sounds like you are doing the right thing. I’m reading a very interesting book at the moment why we get fat from Gary Taubes. It’s all about how sugars contribute a lot to getting fat. When I finished reading this I will write an article about it but some of my readers have given good feedback on this method. More info can be found here: http://40plusstyle.com/how-to-quit-sugar/
Hello I am a 40 year young women at 5.1 height and now 167lbs struggled with weight since high school, gained lost gained lost, I have recently started journaling my food exercise daily cut sweets out and watch my portion size, I have lost since aug. 40lbs and total loss since june of 2010 around 80lbs but not real sure what my highest weight was because didnt get on a scale, my question is this, it says my ideal weight should be 97 to 132 but I have also lost inches, people are telling me I shouldn’t lose much more weight but I am still obese according to charts, I want to lose down to 125 and kind of at a plateau right now, what should i do to kick back in and why am i still obese according to charts…? thank you for help.
The charts give a good general indication but if you think that the ratings are off for your case, please consult a doctor. In terms of weight, I believe in healthy eating and cutting sugars and doing exercize. You may not lose weight really quickly but when you change into a diet and exercize regimen you can keep up with you will arrive to and keep your ideal weight.
Hi my name is Drake,
Drake Denny. I have been under weight most of my life. I am about 6 foot maybe 6,1 and I am 15 years old. I am very skinny and need help and motivation to get bigger. I have tried to work out but I just get ripped and skinny and I don’t get credit for my hard work because j am soo skinny. I really want help from someone, anyone to help me gain weight. Not only do I want to gain weight, I wanted to get big and strong. I’ll do what ever it takes.
I’m not a doctor so if there is a problem, you should definitely check with a practitioner. However, after reading this book I now believe that carbohydrates are the main culprit for gaining weight. So if you want to gain weight, I would advise you to eat a lot more carbs. To get strong and muscular, you will still need to hit the gym.
Hello I am 40 years old and 4’10″. I weigh 250 lbs. I work out excessivaly and still gain weight. Is there a way to get thin. I eat only healthy foods and record my diet. But over the past 4 months I have gained 15 pounds! Please help me!
Hi Shelly, It may have to do with your changing hormone balance, so you may want to check that out. Please also read this article http://40plusstyle.com/how-to-lose-weight-over-40/ I now believe that cutting down on carbohydrates (especially refined sugar) is the key to losing weight.
Hi my names Nikki im 24 yrs old and i have a son. I was 127 lbs when i got pregnant and i gained 60 lbs while i was pregnant. And it took me till my son was 4 to get back to the weight i was when i first got pregnant. Now hes 5 almost 6 and im down to 122 lbs. and the BMI caclulator says im in the normal range. Now im sure you cant help with everything but id like to get to around 115 and its difficult for me to diet because im allergic to dairy and i cant eat a lot of things as it is. And its hard for me to excersize because i take heart medication to keep my heart beat slow. So my excersizes choices are limited. Id love some information or a place i can find some on the dairy allergy and some diets i can use. Thanks very much for the time.
Hi Nikki, I now strongly believe in limiting sugars and carbohydrates for weight loss. I write more about it in this article: http://40plusstyle.com/how-to-lose-weight-over-40/ I recommend an ebook to quit sugar as well, which you may like to give a try. Good luck!
Hi my name is Vanessa and I’m 14 years old and 5 foot 5 in. I weigh around 105 pounds and the chart says that I am healthy weight. However, on the outside I look so skinny and especially because of my height I look like a stick. Is there anyway I could gain a few more pounds or at least look less skinner? Or is gaining more weight for me right now not the best idea? Thank you for your time and please help!
I feel that the best thing for you would be to accept your body as it is and eat healthy. You can also create a lot of ‘shape’ with the right clothes. Perhaps focus on that? Learn to dress for your body type. I’m sure that with the right clothes, you will look fabulous. However please note that the chart is not 100% accurate. If you feel that you are underweight, you may want to seek some advice from your doctor.
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