Like women and girls, men and boys also confront significant challenges surrounding the question of what is the ideal or normal weight and height. Whereas weight is more malleable -- or is perceived as such -- there is little that a man can do to fundamentally or permanently alter his adult height, short of height-boosters like platform shoes. If a parent is concerned about his son's height or weight, a pediatrician is the first, and best, stop for advice.
Normal Weight for an Adult Male
Use of the body mass index, BMI, is often seen as the gold standard screening tool for determining a person's body fat. BMI takes into account an adult's height and weight. However, BMI neither takes the place of a physician nor does it proffer a diagnosis. To calculate BMI using the metric system, divide a person's weight in kilograms by his height in meters squared. With inches and pounds, tabulate BMI by dividing weight in pounds by height in inches squared and multiplying by 703. BMI results correspond to categories of underweight, normal, overweight and obese. Neither age- nor gender-dependent categories have bearing on BMI in adults. A 5-foot 9-inch man who is in the range of 125 to 168 lbs would have a BMI number of 18.5 to 24.9, which is considered normal.
Normal Height for an Adult Male
Heights are perhaps more variable across cultures and ethnic groups than are weights. Most researchers see height variations as a function of both genetics and standard-of-living factors such as medical care and diet. In National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it was reported that the mean height for adult males in the United States from 1999 to 2002 was approximately 69 inches. Specific ages and their concomitant mean heights can also be seen in these NHANES-derived data, as can a discussion of the bearing of ethnicity, race and gender on height and weight data.
Normal Weight for a Boy or Adolescent
The BMI is calculated the same way for children and adults, yet the criteria used to interpret the BMI for boys and adolescent males are different from those used for adults. Data from NHANES and earlier surveys show the prevalence of obesity and overweight children and teens across the genders, races and ethnicities grew dramatically from the first year studied,1960. Between 1999 and 2002, mean weight for a 16-year-old boy in the United States, with different ethnicities and races sampled, was 163.7 lbs. To tabulate a boy's or adolescent's BMI, use the CDC's BMI Calculator for Child and Teen. An 8-year-old boy who is 4 feet tall and weighs 55 lbs is in the 71st percentile for boys of his age; he is a normal weight.
Normal Height for a Boy or Adolescent
Teenagers in the midst of puberty undergo many changes, often quite sweeping ones, in their weight and height. KidsHealth notes that, "Boys tend to show the first physical changes of puberty between the ages of 10 and 16 years." They are likely to grow most rapidly from the ages of 12 to 15. The NHANES report sheds much light on males' mean heights. A 12-year-old boy in the 1999 to 2002 NHANES data was 60.9 inches tall, representing an increase from 60 inches measured in the 1976 to 1980 data.
Changes in the Last 40 Years
The CDC's summation from a review of health data on weights and heights for American boys, adolescent males and adult men puts it best: "Average weight has increased dramatically in the last 40 years with the greatest increases seen in adults. Mean BMI has also increased." Even though height was seen to increase over the same span studied, those boosts in males of all ages were modest.
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