Adults come in a variety of healthy shapes and sizes due to factors including genetic predisposition. As a result, no single height and weight is considered "normal" for all adults. However, for each adult there is a healthy weight category based on his height. Finding that number and striving to reach it--or maintain it--is a major part of reducing disease risk.
Body Mass Index
Body mass index, or BMI, is a number that is calculated to estimate a person's body fatness based on her height and weight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although BMI isn't a direct measure of body fat, it is a simple and inexpensive method of screening for potentially unhealthy weight categories. You can calculate your own BMI by dividing your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and multiplying that number by 703, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Interpreting Results
A person with a BMI score of under 18.5 is deemed underweight, a person with a score of between 18.5 and 24.9 is in a normal weight range, a person between 25.0 and 29.9 is considered overweight and a person who has a BMI of 30.0 and above is considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If, for example, you are 5 feet 9 inches tall and you weigh 124 pounds or less, you have a BMI of under 18.5 and are considered underweight, but if you weigh 169 to 202 pounds, you are in the overweight category.
Diagnosing Weight Problems
Since BMI is only a screening tool rather than a physical examination of body fat, it can inaccurately gauge a person's health. For example, a muscular athlete would be in a higher weight category but the weight on his body isn't fat. Therefore, a health care provider would need to take further steps to determine whether a person is actually in an unhealthy weight range. These steps may include taking a skin fold thickness measurement and assessing the patient's diet, physical activity and family history, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health Consequences of High BMI
Adults who have a BMI above 25 are at increased risk of dying early, mainly from cancer and heart disease, and adults with BMIs above 30 are at a dramatically increased risk, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Although nothing dramatic occurs when a person crosses the 24.9 to 25 threshold of healthy weight to overweight, or the 29.9 to 30.0 threshold of overweight to obese, the general idea is that risk of health problems increases as the number gets higher.
Improving Your BMI
The National Weight Control Registry is a group of more than 5,000 people who have lost over 30 pounds and kept the weight off for one or more years. The common habits among these people were: exercising to burn off an average of 400 calories a day; eating fewer calories a day than the average American; watching less television; eating more fruits and vegetables and eating less fast food and junk food.
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