You’ve probably seen the chart at the doctor's office. It’s that rigid grid of Body Mass Index (BMI) numbers that tells you exactly where you "should" be based on two data points: how tall you are and how much you weigh. If you’re a 5'7" male, that chart usually spits out a range between 118 and 159 pounds.
But honestly? That range is a massive oversimplification.
Body weight is personal. A 155-pound guy who hits the gym four days a week looks and feels entirely different than a 155-pound guy who hasn't lifted anything heavier than a laptop in three years. One is lean and athletic; the other might be carrying "skinny fat" visceral tissue that puts him at risk for metabolic issues. When we talk about a healthy weight for a 5 7 male, we have to look past the scale and into the actual composition of the human body.
The Problem with the BMI Standard
The BMI was created in the 1830s by a Belgian mathematician named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He wasn't a doctor. He wasn't a nutritionist. He was a statistician trying to find the "average man" for social research.
Think about that for a second.
We are using 19th-century math to determine 21st-century health. For a 5'7" man, the "Normal" BMI range of 18.5 to 24.9 is incredibly broad. At the low end (118 lbs), you might be bordering on frailty, especially if you lack muscle mass. At the high end (159 lbs), you’re right on the cusp of being labeled "overweight."
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But muscle is dense. It’s heavy. If you have a broad frame and a decent amount of lean mass, you could easily weigh 170 pounds at 5'7" and have a lower body fat percentage than someone at 145 pounds. This is why the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) use BMI as a screening tool, not a diagnostic one. It's a starting point, not the final word on your health.
Why Frame Size Matters More Than You Think
Not all 5'7" skeletons are built the same. You’ve likely heard people talk about being "big-boned," and while that’s often used as an excuse, there is actual science behind frame size.
A simple way to check this is the wrist measurement. Wrap your thumb and middle finger around your opposite wrist. If they overlap, you likely have a small frame. If they just touch, you're medium. If they don't touch at all? You've got a large frame.
A "healthy weight for a 5 7 male" with a small frame might truly be 135 pounds. However, a large-framed man at that same weight would look emaciated. Doctors often use the Hamwi method as a more nuanced alternative to BMI. For a 5-foot male, the base is 106 pounds, adding 6 pounds for every inch over 5 feet. For 5'7", that equals 148 pounds. Then, you adjust 10% up or down based on that frame size.
Suddenly, the "ideal" isn't one number. It's a spectrum that accounts for the literal thickness of your bones.
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The "Skinny Fat" Trap and Metabolic Health
Weight doesn't tell us where the fat is. This is the biggest danger for men in the 5'7" range who stay within their "healthy" weight but don't exercise.
You can be 150 pounds and have a protruding belly. This is visceral fat. It’s the stuff that wraps around your liver and kidneys. Unlike subcutaneous fat (the stuff you can pinch under your skin), visceral fat is metabolically active. It pumps out inflammatory cytokines and increases your risk for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Recent studies from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggest that Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR) is a much better predictor of longevity than weight alone. For a 5'7" man (67 inches tall), your waist should ideally be less than 33.5 inches.
If your waist is 38 inches but you only weigh 155 pounds, you aren't at a healthy weight. You're at a risky weight disguised by a low number on the scale.
Age and the Sarcopenia Factor
Your goal weight at age 22 shouldn't necessarily be your goal weight at 65.
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As men age, they naturally lose muscle mass—a process called sarcopenia. If you stay the exact same weight from your 20s to your 60s, you have almost certainly replaced muscle with fat.
Actually, for older men, being on the slightly higher end of the BMI scale (around 25-27) is often associated with better outcomes in the event of a serious illness or surgery. It provides a "metabolic reserve." If you're 5'7" and 70 years old, 165 pounds might actually be "healthier" for you than 130 pounds, provided that weight isn't all concentrated in your midsection.
What Real Experts Look At (Beyond the Scale)
When you talk to a sports nutritionist or a preventative cardiologist, they aren't obsessed with your 152-pound weigh-in. They look at functional markers.
- Blood Pressure: Is your heart working too hard to move that mass?
- Resting Heart Rate: A lower RHR usually indicates better cardiovascular efficiency.
- Grip Strength: Believe it or not, this is one of the strongest predictors of long-term health and mortality.
- Blood Glucose: How is your body handling insulin?
If all these markers are green, and you’re 5'7" and 175 pounds because you lift weights and hike, you are "healthy." Period. Don't let a generic chart tell you otherwise.
Actionable Steps to Finding Your Target
Forget the "perfect" number. Focus on these concrete metrics to determine if you are at a healthy weight for your specific body.
- Measure your waist-to-hip ratio. Take a tape measure. Wrap it around your waist at the belly button. Then measure your hips at the widest point. Divide the waist by the hip. For men, a ratio of 0.9 or less is considered healthy.
- Focus on performance goals. Can you walk up three flights of stairs without gasping? Can you carry 40 pounds of groceries? Physical capability is a better metric of "weight health" than the scale.
- Get a DEXA scan or use skinfold calipers. If you're really curious, get your body fat percentage measured. For a 5'7" male, a body fat percentage between 12% and 20% is generally considered the "sweet spot" for longevity and hormonal health.
- Prioritize protein and resistance training. Instead of trying to "lose weight," try to "change composition." Adding 5 pounds of muscle while losing 5 pounds of fat keeps your weight the same but drastically improves your health profile.
The reality is that for a 5'7" male, "healthy" is a feeling and a set of functional capabilities. If you're 140 pounds but can't do a single pushup, you have work to do. If you're 165 pounds and run 5Ks, you're doing great. Stop chasing a 19th-century statistic and start looking at how your body actually performs in the real world.