Maintain Healthy Weight

If you are too fat or too thin, your chances of developing health problems are increased.

Being too fat is common in the United States. It is linked with high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, the most common type of diabetes, certain cancers, and other types of illness.

Being too thin is a less common problem. It occurs with anorexia nervosa and is linked with osteoporosis in women and greater risk of early death in both women and men.

Whether your weight is "healthy" depends on how much of your weight is fat, where in your body the fat is located, and whether you have weight-related medical problems, such as high blood pressure, or a family history of such problems.

What is a healthy weight for you? There is no exact answer right now. Researchers are trying to develop more precise ways to describe healthy weight. In the meantime, you can use the guidelines suggested below to help judge if your weight is healthy.

See if your weight is within the range suggested in the table for persons of your age and height. The table shows higher weights for people 35 years and above than for younger adults. This is because recent research suggests that people can be a little heavier as they grow older without added risk to health. Just how much heavier is not yet clear. The weight ranges given in the table are likely to change based on research under way.

Table.     Suggested     Weights     for      Adults
 
 Height   Weight in pounds
 (without shoes)  (without clothes)
 
                      19  to 34        35  years
                       years            and over
   
   5'0"               97-128  108-138
   5'1"              101-132  111-143
   5'2"              104-137  115-148
   5'3"              107-141  119-152
   5'4"              111-146  122-157
   5'5"              114-150  126-162
   5'6"              118-155  130-167
   5'7"              121-160  134-172
   5'8"              125-164  138-178
   5'9"              129-169  142-183
   5'10"             132-174  146-188
   5'11"             136-179  151-194
   6'0"              140-184  155-199
   6'1"              144-189  159-205
   6'2"              148-195  164-210
   6'3"              152-200  168-216
   6'4"              156-205  173-222
   6'5"              160-211  177-228
   6'6"              164-216  182-234


Note: The higher weights in the ranges generally apply to men, who tend to have more muscle and bone; the lower weights more often apply to women, who have less muscle and bone.