The Ideal Weight For A Five Foot Woman

You can determine the ideal weight range for a person of your height using the Body Mass Index formula. Body Mass Index, or BMI, takes into account your height and weight. Your BMI value serves as an indicator of your fitness level and risk for obesity-related diseases. Women can estimate the ideal weight for their height using this formula, but they should also consider some other factors, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

Calculating BMI

The BMI formula using American measurements requires you to divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches, squared, and then multiply that value by 703. If you measure 5 feet tall and weight 130 pounds, for example, divide 130 by 60 squared, or 3,600. Multiply the answer, or 0.036, by 703. You should get 25.4.

Understanding BMI

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute provides five classifications for BMI values. Use these classifications to interpret your BMI. A BMI value lower than 18.5 indicates that you are underweight. A BMI value between 18.5 and 24.9 indicates a healthy weight. A BMI value between 25.0 and 29.9 indicates that you are overweight, and a BMI value between 30.0 and 34.9 indicates that you are obese. A BMI value over 35 indicates morbid obesity.

Calculating Normal Weight For Your Height

Use the BMI formula to determine the ideal weight for your height. If you measure 5 feet tall, for example, plug 3,600, your height in inches squared, and the lowest healthy BMI value into the formula to determine your lowest ideal weight. Then plug 3,600 and the highest healthy BMI value into the formula to determine your highest ideal weight. Use the following formula: BMI = (weight in pounds / (height in inches) ^2 ) x 703. To find the lowest ideal weight in pounds, divide the lowest healthy BMI, or 18.5, by 703. Then multiply the result by 3,600. You should get 94.7. Using the same method, you should find that the highest ideal weight for your height equals 127.5. Thus, according to the BMI system, a 5-foot-tall woman should weigh between 94.7 and 127.5 pounds.

Expert Insight

The Mayo Clinic warns that BMI values often underestimate body fat in women. Women with healthy BMI values can actually be overweight or obese. The Mayo Clinic refers to this condition as normal weight obesity. BMI values fail to predict obesity in women more often than in men, who typically have less body fat. BMI might be more likely to underestimate obesity in older women who have lost muscle mass and gained body fat, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Highly trained female athletes with dense muscle mass, on the other hand, often have lower than average body fat. BMI values might overestimate body fat in these women and incorrectly indicate that they are overweight.

Considerations

Because the BMI system sometimes fails to accurately predict obesity, take other measurements into consideration when determining whether you have reached the ideal weight. Ask your doctor to measure your body fat percentage, for example. Then ask your doctor if your body fat percentage is healthy or too high or low. If you have a body fat percentage above 30, you face a higher risk of heart disease and metabolic disorders even if you have a normal weight BMI, according to the Mayo Clinic.