If you stand five-foot-seven, you've probably spent a fair amount of time staring at those colorful charts in the doctor's office or scrolling through fitness calculators late at night. It’s a common height. It’s that middle-ground stature where you’re tall enough to reach the top shelf but not so tall that you’re constantly hitting your head on low doorways. But when it comes to figuring out the average body weight for 5'7 female, the internet basically gives you a single number and expects you to fit into it like a pair of "one size fits all" leggings.
Spoiler: They don't actually fit everyone.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average weight for an adult woman in the United States has been climbing for decades. Recent NHANES data suggests the mean weight for women over 20 is around 170.8 pounds. But here’s the kicker. That "average" includes every height from 4'10 to 6'0. For a woman who is specifically 5'7", that number is going to look a lot different than it does for someone five inches shorter. If we look at the "healthy" BMI range, which is the standard most medical professionals still use—for better or worse—the window for a 5'7" woman sits roughly between 118 and 159 pounds.
That’s a 41-pound gap. It's massive.
The BMI problem and why your "average" is unique
We have to talk about the Body Mass Index (BMI). Developed in the 1830s by a Belgian mathematician named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, it was never meant to be a tool for individual health diagnosis. Quetelet was a social scientist trying to define the "average man." Yet, here we are in 2026, still using a 190-year-old math equation to decide if we're "healthy."
For a 5'7" woman, the BMI formula is $weight (lb) / [height (in)]^2 \times 703$.
It doesn't care if you're a marathon runner with legs like steel cables or if you've never picked up a dumbbell in your life. Bone density? Doesn't matter to the formula. Breast tissue? Nope. It just sees mass. This is why a 5'7" athlete weighing 165 pounds might be flagged as "overweight" by a computer, even if her body fat percentage is lower than a 125-pound woman with very little muscle.
Muscle is dense. It’s heavy.
I remember talking to a nutritionist, Sarah Gold Anzlovar, who pointed out that people get so fixated on the "ideal" weight for their height that they ignore how their body actually functions. If you're 5'7" and 160 pounds but your blood pressure is perfect, your energy is high, and you’re sleeping well, are you really "unhealthy" just because you’re one pound over a mathematical threshold? Probably not.
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Frame size: The missing variable
Not all 5'7" frames are built the same. You’ve got your "ectomorphs" who are naturally willow-thin with narrow shoulders, and your "mesomorphs" or "endomorphs" who might have broader hips or a wider ribcage.
You can actually check this yourself by measuring your wrist. If you’re 5'7" and your wrist circumference is under 6.25 inches, you’ve likely got a small frame. Between 6.25 and 6.5? Medium. Over 6.5? That’s a large frame. A woman with a large frame is naturally going to carry more weight in bone alone. It’s physics. You can’t diet away your skeleton.
What the data actually says about "Healthy" weights
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company used to produce these famous "Height and Weight" tables. They were obsessed with it because, well, they wanted to know who was likely to live the longest so they could set their premiums. For a 5'7" woman, their old "Ideal" ranges (which assumed a small heel on the shoe) looked like this:
- Small Frame: 133–143 lbs
- Medium Frame: 140–153 lbs
- Large Frame: 148–166 lbs
Notice how even the "ideal" for a large frame stretches well past the 159-pound cutoff used by modern BMI charts? This is where the nuance lives.
Health isn't a destination; it's more like a range. When people search for average body weight for 5'7 female, they are usually looking for permission to be where they are, or a goal to reach. But "average" in America right now is actually trending toward the "overweight" category on the BMI scale. This creates a weird disconnect between what is statistically common and what is medically recommended.
The role of age and hormones
Your body at 22 is not your body at 52.
As women age, especially heading into perimenopause and menopause, body composition shifts. Estrogen drops. Muscle mass tends to decline unless you’re actively fighting it with resistance training. This often leads to a shift in where weight is carried—moving from the hips to the midsection. A 5'7" woman might find that the 145 pounds she maintained effortlessly in her 30s feels impossible to hold onto in her 50s. And that's actually okay. Some research suggests that carrying a little extra weight as we age can actually be protective against osteoporosis and certain types of fractures.
Beyond the scale: Better metrics to track
If the scale is a liar, or at least a very poor storyteller, what should you look at?
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- Waist-to-Hip Ratio: This is honestly way more telling than total weight. It measures visceral fat—the stuff that hangs out around your organs. For women, a ratio of 0.85 or lower is generally considered healthy.
- Body Fat Percentage: This tells you how much of that 5'7" frame is actual adipose tissue versus lean mass. A healthy range for women is typically 21% to 32%.
- Strength and Mobility: Can you carry your groceries? Can you do a squat? Can you walk three miles without feeling like you're going to collapse? These functional markers matter more for your long-term quality of life than whether you weigh 142 or 152.
Let's look at a real-world example. Imagine two women, both 5'7".
Woman A weighs 130 pounds. she eats very little, does zero strength training, and has a high body fat percentage relative to her muscle (often called "skinny fat"). She’s tired all the time and her bone density is low.
Woman B weighs 165 pounds. She lifts weights three times a week, eats a high-protein diet, and has incredible cardiovascular health.
On paper, the average body weight for 5'7 female charts would say Woman A is "perfect" and Woman B is "overweight." In reality? Woman B is likely much healthier and will have a more resilient body as she ages.
Why "Average" is a moving target
Cultural standards play a massive role in how we perceive these numbers. In some cultures, a 5'7" woman at 125 pounds is the "ideal." In others, 160 pounds is seen as the standard of beauty and health.
Then there's the "set point" theory. This is the idea that your body has a weight range it really wants to stay in. Your biology fights to keep you there by adjusting your hunger hormones (ghrelin and leptin). If you’re naturally a 155-pound person at 5'7", trying to force your body down to 130 might result in a permanent state of hunger and a crashing metabolism. It’s your body’s way of saying, "Hey, I don't like it here."
Practical steps for finding your "Best" weight
Stop chasing a number you found on a 1990s website.
Start by assessing your lifestyle. Are you eating whole foods? Are you moving your body in a way that feels good? Are you sleeping? If you’re doing those things and your weight stabilizes at 158 pounds, then for your 5'7" frame, 158 might just be your "average."
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Instead of focusing on the average body weight for 5'7 female, focus on your personal baseline. Keep a journal for two weeks. Don't track calories—track how you feel.
- Monday: 157 lbs. Felt energetic after a 20-minute walk.
- Thursday: 159 lbs. Bloated from salt, but hit a PR in the gym.
- Sunday: 156 lbs. Slept 8 hours, felt lean but a bit weak.
You’ll start to see that weight fluctuates based on water, hormones, and even how much fiber you ate the day before. It’s not a reflection of your worth. It’s just data. And usually, it's pretty noisy data.
Actions to take right now
If you’re feeling stuck on the numbers, here is what you actually need to do to find a healthy balance for your height:
Measure your waist-to-height ratio. Take a piece of string, measure your height, then fold it in half. If it fits around your waist, you’re likely in a good spot regarding metabolic health. This is far more accurate for a 5'7" woman than a standard BMI check.
Prioritize protein and resistance training. Since your height gives you a larger "chassis," you have a great opportunity to build lean muscle. Aim for roughly 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your target weight. This helps maintain the muscle you have and keeps your metabolism firing.
Get a DXA scan if you’re curious. If you really want the truth, a DXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) scan will tell you exactly how much of your weight is bone, fat, and muscle. It’s the gold standard. You might find out that your "heavy" weight is actually just high bone density and muscle mass, which is a massive win for your future self.
Consult a weight-neutral practitioner. If you’re worried about your weight, find a doctor or dietitian who looks at "Health at Every Size" (HAES) or at least prioritizes blood work and functional markers over the scale. They will look at your A1C, your cholesterol, and your inflammation levels rather than just barking at you about a number on a piece of plastic.
The "average" is just a middle point in a sea of data. You aren't a data point. You’re a person with a specific genetic history, a specific lifestyle, and a specific body that knows how to find its own balance if you give it the right tools. Focus on the inputs—the food, the movement, the stress management—and let the output (the weight) take care of itself.