You stand on the scale, look down at the flickering digital numbers, and immediately feel a pit in your stomach. If you’re a 5'7" individual, you’ve likely Googled "5 7 proper weight" a dozen times, hoping for a magic number that says you’re "normal." But here is the thing. That number? It is mostly a lie. Well, not a lie, but it’s a very incomplete truth.
Being five-foot-seven puts you in an interesting spot. You’re taller than the average American woman (5'4") and just a bit shorter than the average man (5'9"). This middle-ground height means that small shifts in muscle mass or water retention show up differently on your frame than they would on someone much shorter or taller. Honestly, chasing a specific digit on the scale is often a recipe for frustration because your "proper" weight depends entirely on what those pounds are actually made of.
The BMI Myth and the 5 7 Proper Weight Range
If you look at the standard Body Mass Index (BMI) charts—the ones doctors have used since the 1830s—the "healthy" range for someone who is 5'7" is roughly 118 to 159 pounds.
That’s a massive 41-pound gap.
How can a person weighing 119 pounds and someone weighing 158 pounds both be considered at a "proper" weight? It's because BMI is a blunt instrument. It was invented by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician, not a physician. He specifically stated it wasn't meant to measure individual health, yet here we are, nearly two centuries later, still stressing over it.
If you have a large frame or carry a decent amount of muscle, 159 pounds might look lean on you. If you have a very small frame and low muscle tone, 125 pounds might feel heavy. The CDC and the World Health Organization still lean on these numbers because they work for broad population studies, but for you, sitting there wondering if you need to lose ten pounds, they kind of suck.
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Frame Size Matters More Than You Think
You’ve probably heard people claim they are "big-boned." While that sounds like an excuse, there is actually a lot of medical truth to it. Your skeletal structure determines how much weight your body can naturally and healthily support.
There is a simple, old-school trick to check this. Wrap your thumb and middle finger around your opposite wrist. If they overlap, you’ve got a small frame. If they just touch, you’re medium. If there’s a gap? Large frame. For a 5'7" person, a large frame can easily carry 10–15 pounds more than a small-framed person while maintaining the same body fat percentage.
Imagine two people. Both are 5'7". One is a marathon runner with a narrow ribcage and thin wrists. The other is a CrossFit athlete with broad shoulders and a wide pelvis. If they both weighed 140 pounds, the runner might look healthy, while the athlete might look depleted. Their 5 7 proper weight is not the same because their "chassis" is built differently.
Let's Talk About Muscle Density
Muscle is significantly denser than fat. You know this, but do you really feel it when you step on the scale? A cubic inch of muscle weighs more than a cubic inch of fat. This is why "weight" is a terrible metric for fitness.
Take a look at athletes. A 5'7" professional MMA fighter might weigh 170 pounds. According to the BMI, they are "overweight" or "borderline obese." But their body fat might be 10%. They are incredibly healthy. Meanwhile, someone else could be 5'7", weigh 130 pounds, but have very little muscle (often called "skinny fat"), which puts them at risk for metabolic issues like Type 2 diabetes.
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Health isn't a weight. It’s a composition.
Why Your Weight Fluctuates Daily
If you weighed yourself this morning and you were 145, then weighed yourself after dinner and you were 148, you didn't gain three pounds of fat. That’s physically impossible unless you ate about 10,500 calories in one sitting.
Your 5 7 proper weight is always a moving target because of:
- Glycogen storage: For every gram of carb you store in your muscles, your body holds onto about 3 to 4 grams of water.
- Sodium intake: That sushi dinner? The soy sauce caused your cells to hold water.
- Cortisol: Stress makes you hold water.
- Inflammation: If you had a hard workout yesterday, your muscles are likely holding fluid to repair themselves.
The Role of Age and Hormones
As we get older, our "ideal" weight tends to shift upward. It’s a natural biological process called sarcopenia—the gradual loss of muscle mass. When you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down. This is why many people find that the weight they maintained easily at 22 feels impossible to hold onto at 45.
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For women specifically, perimenopause and menopause change where weight is stored. The "proper" weight for a 5'7" woman in her 50s might be higher than in her 20s to help protect bone density. Estrogen is protective; as it drops, carrying a little extra weight can actually provide a buffer against osteoporosis. It’s a nuance that a simple height-weight chart completely ignores.
What Research Actually Says
Recent studies have suggested that being in the "overweight" BMI category (25 to 29.9) might actually be linked to longer life expectancy in older adults than being in the "normal" category. This is known as the "Obesity Paradox." It suggests that having some reserves is beneficial when facing illness or surgery.
Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez of the Mayo Clinic has done extensive work on "Normal Weight Obesity." He points out that people with a "proper" BMI but high abdominal fat are at higher risk than people who weigh more but have more muscle and better fat distribution. Basically, a 5'7" person at 165 pounds with a 30-inch waist is likely healthier than a 5'7" person at 140 pounds with a 35-inch waist.
Stop Obsessing Over the Number
If you want to find your true 5 7 proper weight, stop looking at the scale for a week. Instead, look at these markers:
- Waist-to-Hip Ratio: This is a much better predictor of cardiovascular health than weight.
- Energy Levels: Do you feel like a zombie by 3 PM?
- Blood Markers: What do your A1C, cholesterol, and blood pressure look like?
- Strength: Can you carry your groceries or climb three flights of stairs without gasping?
If those things are in check, the number on the scale is almost irrelevant.
Actionable Steps to Finding Your "True" Weight
Stop chasing a ghost. If you're 5'7", here is how you actually determine if you're at a healthy weight:
- Get a DEXA scan or use skinfold calipers. Knowing your body fat percentage is 100x more valuable than knowing your total weight. For men, a healthy range is often 10-20%; for women, it’s 18-28%.
- Measure your waist. For most people, a waist circumference of less than half your height is a good sign. At 5'7" (67 inches), you want your waist to be under 33.5 inches.
- Track your protein. To maintain the "proper" weight that includes muscle, aim for about 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass.
- Focus on functional strength. Instead of a weight goal, set a strength goal. Aim to do 10 perfect pushups or a 1-minute plank. Usually, when you reach those physical milestones, your body settles into its natural, healthy weight anyway.
- Ignore "Goal Weights" from high school. Your body is different now. Your bone density has changed. Your life has changed. Aim for the weight where you feel most vibrant, not the weight where you felt most "thin."
The reality is that 5 7 proper weight isn't a single point on a line. It’s a broad, flexible zone that changes as you age, build muscle, and live your life. Trust your body more than the machine on the bathroom floor.