You’re standing in the bathroom, staring down at those glowing digital numbers. 165? 180? Maybe you're pushing 200 and wondering if the floor is actually sloping or if you've just had one too many slices of pizza this week. Honestly, most guys aren't looking for a medical dissertation when they search for the average weight of 5'7 male. They want to know one thing: "Am I normal?"
The short answer is that the "average" guy in America isn't exactly the picture of peak health. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average American man over age 20 weighs roughly 199.8 pounds. For a guy standing at 5'7", that weight puts him squarely into the "obese" category of the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale.
It's a bit of a mess.
See, there’s a massive gap between what is "average" (the statistical mean of the population) and what is "ideal" (the weight that keeps your heart from working overtime). If you're 5'7" and you weigh 200 pounds, you're technically average by modern societal standards, but your doctor is likely going to have a very different conversation with you during your annual checkup.
The BMI Trap and Why 5'7" is a Tricky Height
Doctors love BMI. It’s easy. It’s fast. You take your height, you take your weight, you do a little math, and boom—you're a number. For a 5'7" man, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests a "healthy" weight range is roughly 118 to 159 pounds.
Let's be real for a second.
If you are a 5'7" guy with any amount of muscle mass, weighing 118 pounds makes you look like a gust of wind might take you out. On the flip side, if you're a "powerlifter" type, 159 pounds might feel impossible to maintain without losing all your strength. This is where the BMI fails. It doesn't know the difference between five pounds of visceral belly fat and five pounds of quad muscle.
Muscle is dense. It’s heavy.
I’ve seen guys at this height who weigh 180 pounds and look absolutely shredded because they spend four days a week under a barbell. I’ve also seen guys at 180 who are struggling with breathlessness just walking up a flight of stairs. The scale doesn't tell the whole story, but it’s a decent starting point if you’re honest with yourself about what’s making up that weight.
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Breaking Down the Frame Size Factor
You’ve probably heard someone say they’re "big-boned." While it sounds like a convenient excuse, there is actually some scientific merit to it. Frame size matters. A guy with a narrow skeletal structure and small wrists is going to carry 150 pounds very differently than a guy with broad shoulders and a thick ribcage.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company used to publish these famous "Height and Weight Tables." They were obsessed with frame size. For a 5'7" male, they categorized "ideal" weights like this:
- Small Frame: 138–145 lbs
- Medium Frame: 142–154 lbs
- Large Frame: 149–168 lbs
It's a narrow window. Most guys find themselves looking at those numbers and thinking, "There is no way." But these tables were based on longevity—essentially, what weight makes you least likely to die prematurely. It wasn't about how you look in a t-shirt at the beach. It was about how long your ticker keeps ticking.
What the "Average" Actually Looks Like in 2026
If you walk into a grocery store today, the average weight of 5'7 male isn't 145 pounds. Not even close. Because of our sedentary lifestyles and the fact that high-fructose corn syrup is in basically everything, the statistical average has crept up significantly over the last thirty years.
In the 1960s, a 5'7" man typically weighed around 160 pounds. Today, that number is closer to 190.
That’s a huge jump.
We’ve normalized being overweight. When everyone around you is carrying an extra 30 pounds, the guy who is actually at a "healthy" 150 pounds starts to look "too skinny" to the general public. It's a weird psychological shift. You might feel fine at 185, but your joints might feel differently in twenty years.
The Role of Body Composition
If you want to know if your weight is a problem, stop looking at the scale for a minute and grab a measuring tape. Waist-to-height ratio is becoming a much more respected metric in the medical community than simple weight.
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For a 5'7" guy (67 inches), your waist should ideally be less than 33.5 inches.
If you weigh 175 pounds but your waist is 32 inches, you’re probably just "jacked." You have a lot of lean mass. If you weigh 175 pounds and your waist is 38 inches, you're carrying a lot of adipose tissue around your midsection. That's the "bad" fat—the stuff that wraps around your organs and mess with your insulin sensitivity.
Real-World Examples: Athletes vs. Regular Joes
Look at professional athletes. They are the outliers, but they prove why the "average weight" is a shaky metric.
Take a professional UFC fighter in the Featherweight division. These guys often walk around at 5'7" or 5'8". On fight night, they weigh 145 pounds. But in their "off-season," they might sit comfortably at 170. They are incredibly fit, but even they struggle to maintain the lower end of the "ideal" weight spectrum without a rigorous camp.
Then you have someone like a CrossFit athlete. A 5'7" male in that sport might weigh 185 pounds of pure granite. By BMI standards, he’s "obese." By health standards, he’s probably in the top 1% of the population.
Most of us aren't professional athletes.
We sit at desks. We drive cars. We binge Netflix. For the average guy who isn't training like a maniac, landing somewhere between 150 and 165 pounds is usually the "sweet spot" where you look good, feel good, and your blood pressure stays in the green zone.
Why Age Changes the Equation
You can't expect to weigh what you did in high school. Sarcopenia—the natural loss of muscle mass as we age—starts hitting in your 30s and 40s.
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As you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down. If you keep eating the same way you did at 22, you’re going to gain weight. But here's the kicker: even if your weight stays the same, your body composition might be shifting. You're losing the "heavy" muscle and replacing it with "light" fat. So you might still weigh 160 pounds at age 50, but you're actually less healthy than when you weighed 160 at age 25.
How to Actually Reach Your Target Weight
If you've realized you're on the high side of the average weight of 5'7 male and want to dial it back, don't do anything drastic. Kinda pointless to starve yourself for two weeks just to bounce back higher than before.
Start with protein.
Most guys don't eat enough of it. Aiming for about 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your target body weight helps preserve that precious muscle while you drop the fat. If you want to weigh 160, eat 160 grams of protein. It's satisfying, it keeps you full, and it has a higher thermic effect than carbs or fats.
Then, move.
You don't need to run marathons. Just walking 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day is enough to kickstart a stagnant metabolism. It’s boring, but it works. Honestly, the best workout is the one you actually show up for, whether that's lifting heavy circles or just hiking with your dog.
Actionable Steps for the 5'7" Man
Forget the "perfect" number for a second and focus on these tangible markers of health:
- Measure your waist: If it's over 35 inches, it's time to adjust the diet, regardless of what the scale says.
- Check your strength: Can you do 10 pushups? Can you air squat 20 times? Physical function is a better longevity predictor than total mass.
- Prioritize Sleep: Lack of sleep spikes cortisol and makes you crave sugar. You'll never hit your "ideal" weight if you're only sleeping five hours a night.
- Hydrate: Sometimes hunger is just thirst in disguise. Drink a glass of water before every meal.
- Don't obsess over the 150-pound mark: If you feel strong, your energy is high, and your blood work is clean at 170 pounds, you've already won.
Weight is a tool, not a cage. Use the average as a map, but don't be afraid to take a different route if your body composition and health markers tell you that you're doing just fine. Focus on how you move and how your clothes fit. The rest usually takes care of itself.