So, you’re five-foot-seven. In the world of fashion, you’re basically the industry standard. In the world of health, you’re at that specific height where five pounds can either look like nothing or totally change how your jeans fit. But honestly, trying to find a healthy weight for 5'7 woman isn't as simple as looking at one of those dusty old charts in a doctor’s office.
The scale is a liar. Well, maybe not a liar, but it's definitely not telling the whole story.
Most people just head straight for the Body Mass Index (BMI). If you do the math, a "normal" BMI for someone who is 5'7" (or 170 cm) typically falls between 118 and 159 pounds. That’s a massive 41-pound range. It’s the difference between looking lean and athletic or having a bit more curves and softness. And both can be perfectly healthy. But here’s the thing: BMI doesn’t know if you’re a marathon runner with legs of steel or someone who hasn't lifted a weight since high school gym class. It just sees the gravity you're pulling.
The BMI Myth and What Actually Matters for Your Height
If you talk to someone like Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, she’ll tell you that BMI is a "crude" tool. It was actually invented in the 1830s by a Belgian mathematician named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He wasn't even a doctor! He was just looking for a way to measure the "average man."
For a woman who is 5'7", your bone structure matters a ton.
Some women have a small frame—delicate wrists, narrow shoulders. For them, 125 pounds might feel great. But for a woman with a large frame or a high amount of muscle mass, hitting 125 pounds might involve dangerous dieting and a complete loss of her menstrual cycle. That’s not health. That’s a crisis.
We need to look at body composition.
Muscle is denser than fat. You’ve heard it before, but let it sink in: a woman who weighs 165 pounds at 5'7" but has a 28-inch waist is likely much healthier than a woman who weighs 140 pounds but carries all her weight in her midsection. Why? Because of visceral fat. That’s the stuff that wraps around your organs. It’s metabolically active and, frankly, dangerous. It’s what leads to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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Defining a Healthy Weight for 5'7 Woman Beyond the Scale
When we talk about finding your personal "sweet spot," we have to mention the Hamwi method. It’s an old-school formula used by dietitians to find "Ideal Body Weight" (IBW).
The formula for women starts at 100 pounds for the first 5 feet of height and adds 5 pounds for every inch after that.
- Start at 100 lbs (for 5'0").
- Add 7 inches x 5 lbs.
- Total: 135 lbs.
But even the Hamwi method allows for a 10% swing in either direction based on your frame size. So, now we’re looking at a range of 121 to 149 pounds.
Wait.
Check those numbers against the BMI range (118–159). They don't even match up perfectly. This is why you’re probably feeling confused. Health isn't a single point on a map; it's more like a broad neighborhood.
If you’re 5'7", you should care more about your Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR). Research, including a major study published in PLOS ONE, suggests that your waist circumference should be less than half your height. For you, that means keeping your waist under 33.5 inches. If your waist is 30 inches, but you weigh 165 pounds because you crush it at CrossFit? You’re probably in fantastic shape.
Hormones, Age, and the 5'7" Reality
Let's get real about aging. Your healthy weight for 5'7 woman in your 20s is probably not going to be the same in your 50s.
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Perimenopause and menopause change everything. Estrogen drops. Your body suddenly wants to store fat in your belly instead of your hips. This "menopause middle" isn't just about vanity; it's a shift in how your body handles insulin.
A 50-year-old woman standing 5'7" might find that staying at 130 pounds requires an exhausting level of calorie restriction that leaves her bones brittle. Osteoporosis is a massive risk for tall, thin women. Sometimes, carrying an extra 10 pounds of "buffer" weight can actually protect your bone density as you age. It's a trade-off.
You also have to consider your "Set Point."
This is the weight your body naturally fights to maintain. Have you ever noticed that you can lose five pounds, but the second you stop tracking every blueberry, your weight bounces right back to a specific number? That’s your biology, not a lack of willpower. Your hypothalamus is basically a thermostat for your fat stores.
The Performance Metric: How Do You Actually Feel?
Forget the mirror for a second.
Ask yourself:
- Can I walk up three flights of stairs without gasping for air?
- Is my sleep quality decent, or am I waking up starving at 3 AM?
- Do I have the energy to get through my workday and still have a life afterward?
- Is my skin glowing, or am I losing hair because I'm under-eating?
If you are 155 pounds at 5'7" and you feel like a superhero, you are likely at a healthy weight. If you are 120 pounds but you’re constantly cold, irritable, and haven't had a period in six months, you are underweight for your biology, regardless of what a BMI chart says.
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Practical Steps to Find Your Version of Healthy
Stop chasing a number that was decided by a 19th-century mathematician. It’s time for a more nuanced approach.
First, get a DEXA scan if you can afford it. It’s the gold standard for seeing what’s actually inside you—bone, muscle, and fat. If you can’t do that, buy a simple cloth measuring tape. Track your waist-to-hip ratio. A ratio of 0.8 or lower for women generally indicates a lower risk of chronic diseases.
Second, focus on protein. As a taller woman, you have more "engine" to fuel. Aim for roughly 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your goal weight. This helps preserve the muscle that keeps your metabolism humming.
Third, look at your bloodwork. Your "healthy weight" is the weight at which your blood pressure is normal, your fasting glucose is under 100 mg/dL, and your triglycerides are low. If those numbers are good, the scale is secondary.
Finally, ignore the "influencer" weights. You see women who are 5'7" claiming they weigh 110 pounds. Most of the time, they are either genetically an outlier, using filters, or struggling with disordered habits. For the vast majority of women, a sustainable, healthy weight at this height is going to be significantly higher than "model" standards.
Eat for your bones. Lift for your muscles. Move for your heart. The weight will eventually settle exactly where it needs to be for you to live a long, capable life.
Actionable Roadmap for 5'7" Women
- Measure your waist-to-height ratio: Keep it under 0.5 (33.5 inches).
- Prioritize strength training: Muscle mass is the best predictor of longevity and metabolic health at your height.
- Check your labs: If your A1C and cholesterol are optimal, don't stress a 5-pound gain.
- Assess your energy: If you're "at weight" but exhausted, your calories are likely too low.
- Ignore the BMI scale in isolation: Use it as a data point, not the whole story.