Body mass index is a liar. Well, maybe not a liar, but it's definitely that friend who tells you half-truths because they don't want to deal with the nuances of your actual life. If you've spent any time Googling what is the ideal weight for a 5 8 female, you've probably seen the standard range: 121 to 158 pounds.
But honestly? That range is massive.
Thirty-seven pounds is the difference between fitting into a size 4 and a size 12. It’s the difference between a marathon runner’s build and a powerlifter’s frame. When you stand at 5'8", you have a height that carries weight differently than someone who is 5'2". You have more "real estate" for muscle, bone density, and, yes, a little bit of curve. If you’re staring at a scale and feeling like a failure because you’re 165 pounds but you feel great, the math might be the problem, not your body.
Why the BMI range for a 5 8 female is basically a rough draft
The World Health Organization and the CDC love BMI because it’s easy. It’s a simple calculation: weight divided by height squared. For a woman who is five-foot-eight, the "healthy" window is roughly $18.5$ to $24.9$.
It doesn't care if you have heavy bones. It doesn't care if you've been hitting the squat rack three days a week for two years.
Muscle is dense. It’s tight. It takes up way less space than fat but weighs a significant amount more by volume. This is why a 5'8" athlete like a professional volleyball player or a CrossFit competitor might weigh 170 pounds—technically "overweight" by BMI standards—and have a body fat percentage that’s actually quite low. On the flip side, someone can be 125 pounds at this height and be "skinny fat," meaning they have very little muscle mass and a higher risk for metabolic issues despite being at the lower end of the "ideal" weight spectrum.
Dr. Nick Tiller, a researcher at the Lundquist Institute, often points out that health is multi-dimensional. You can't just look at a number on a spring-loaded metal box and know if your heart is healthy.
We have to talk about frame size. It sounds like an excuse people use, but "big-boned" is a medical reality. Doctors often measure wrist circumference to determine if you have a small, medium, or large frame. A 5'8" woman with a large frame (a wrist over 6.5 inches) is going to naturally and healthily sit at the higher end of that weight range, likely comfortably in the 150s or even 160s, without carrying excess adipose tissue.
The role of body composition and where you carry it
Where the weight sits matters more than how much of it there is. This is the part most automated health calculators skip.
If you’re 155 pounds and most of that is distributed in your hips and thighs (the classic "pear" shape), your cardiovascular risk is actually much lower than a woman who is 140 pounds but carries all of her weight in her midsection. Visceral fat—the stuff that hugs your organs—is the real villain here.
You should grab a measuring tape.
Seriously. A better metric for a 5'8" woman than total weight is the waist-to-height ratio. Most experts, including those published in the International Journal of Obesity, suggest that your waist circumference should be less than half your height. For you, that means keeping your waist under 34 inches. If you’re 165 pounds but your waist is 29 inches, you’re likely in better metabolic shape than someone lighter with a 35-inch waist.
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Age plays a massive factor too.
A 22-year-old 5'8" woman and a 55-year-old 5'8" woman should not necessarily aim for the same number. Perimenopause and menopause shift how our bodies store fat and how we maintain muscle. Estrogen drops, cortisol can spike, and suddenly the "ideal" weight you had in college feels like a distant, unhealthy memory. In fact, some longitudinal studies suggest that carrying a few extra pounds as you age can actually be protective against bone density loss and osteoporosis.
Real-world examples of the 5 8 silhouette
Let's look at some actual context.
At 5'8", you are taller than roughly 95% of women in the United States. You have a longer ribcage, longer femurs, and a larger blood volume.
Consider a professional model. Many are 5'8" and might weigh 115 to 125 pounds. This is often the "ideal" portrayed in media, but for the vast majority of women, maintaining that weight requires extreme caloric restriction that isn't sustainable or healthy. It can lead to amenorrhea (losing your period) and brittle hair.
Now, look at an Olympic swimmer like Missy Franklin, who is over 6 feet, but if we scale that down to a 5'8" equivalent, she’d be carrying significant weight in her lats and shoulders.
Most "fit" 5'8" women in the real world—teachers, nurses, moms, corporate professionals who workout—find their "happy weight" somewhere between 145 and 165 pounds. That's the zone where you have enough energy to climb stairs without huffing, enough strength to carry groceries, and enough body fat to keep your hormones happy.
The problem with the "Ideal Weight" obsession
We’ve been conditioned to think there’s a finish line. If I just hit 135 pounds, I’ll be happy.
It’s a lie.
Weight fluctuates. You can "gain" five pounds in a weekend just by eating a salty sushi dinner and holding onto water. For a taller woman, these fluctuations are even more pronounced. You have more tissue to hold water.
Instead of asking what the ideal weight is, we should probably be asking:
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- How is my fasted blood sugar?
- What is my blood pressure?
- Can I carry 20 pounds of gear for a mile?
- Do I sleep through the night?
If those things are in check, the number on the scale is just data. It’s not a grade.
Genetics and the "Set Point" theory
Some people are just built to be thin. Others are built to be sturdy.
There's a concept called the "Set Point Theory" which suggests our bodies have a weight range they naturally want to defend. For a 5'8" woman whose family is mostly tall and athletic, her body might fight tooth and nail to stay at 160 pounds. If she tries to force it down to 130, her metabolism might slow to a crawl, her hunger hormones (ghrelin) will skyrocket, and she'll feel miserable.
Conversely, someone with a naturally slight build might struggle to put on weight and feel best at 125.
Both can be "ideal."
The nuance is in the feeling. Are you cold all the time? Is your hair thinning? Are you obsessed with your next meal? Those are signs you’re below your body's healthy set point, regardless of what the BMI chart says.
Practical ways to find YOUR version of ideal
Forget the internet calculators for a second. If you want to find the weight that is actually right for your 5'8" frame, you have to do some manual detective work.
First, stop weighing yourself every day. It's useless data. Once a week, at most.
Second, get a DEXA scan or a BodPod reading if you’re really curious. These aren't perfect, but they’ll tell you your body fat percentage and bone density. For women, a healthy body fat range is generally 21% to 32%. If you’re at 25% body fat and weigh 160 pounds, you are objectively "fit," even if a generic chart says you're borderline overweight.
Third, look at your "functional" fitness.
Can you do 10 pushups? Can you walk for 30 minutes at a brisk pace? If you're 130 pounds but you can't lift a heavy suitcase into an overhead bin, you might be "under-muscled." At 5'8", you have the leverage to be quite strong. Use it.
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Nutrition and the 5 8 advantage
Being 5'8" means your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)—the calories you burn just by existing—is naturally higher than a shorter woman's.
You need more fuel.
A lot of 5'8" women try to follow the same 1,200-calorie diets that are marketed to everyone. That is a recipe for a metabolic crash. A woman of this height, even if she's sedentary, likely needs closer to 1,600–1,800 calories just to keep her brain and organs functioning optimally. If you're active, that number jumps to 2,200 or more.
Don't starve your height.
Focus on protein. It’s the building block of the muscle that makes that 5'8" frame look "toned" rather than just "thin." Aim for about 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of your target weight. If you want to be a solid 150 pounds, aim for 120-150 grams of protein.
Actionable steps to move forward
Instead of chasing a phantom number, try these specific shifts over the next 30 days.
- Measure your waist-to-height ratio. Take a string, measure your height, fold it in half, and see if it fits around your waist. If it does, your internal health is likely in a good spot, regardless of your weight.
- Focus on "Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis" (NEAT). Because you have longer limbs, you actually burn more energy just by moving around than shorter people do. Aim for 8,000 steps. It’s easier for you to cover ground!
- Prioritize strength training. Muscle is the "metabolic Spanx" of the body. It holds everything in place and keeps your metabolism humming. Aim for two days a week of lifting something heavy.
- Audit your energy levels. Keep a journal for one week. Rate your energy from 1-10. If you’re at your "goal weight" but your energy is a 3, that isn't your ideal weight. It's a prison.
- Check your blood work. Ask your doctor for a full metabolic panel, including Vitamin D, Ferritin (iron stores), and Thyroid markers (TSH, Free T3, Free T4). Sometimes the reason we can't reach a healthy weight isn't willpower; it's a nutrient deficiency or a hormonal lag.
The "ideal" weight for a 5'8" female is ultimately the weight at which you can live your most vibrant life without being a slave to a kitchen scale or a gym schedule. For some, that’s 135. For many, it’s 155. For others, it’s 170.
Listen to your body, not the chart.
Stay active, eat enough protein to support your muscles, and pay attention to how your clothes fit and how your heart pumps. That’s where the real "ideal" lives.
Next Steps for Your Health Journey
- Conduct a "Closet Test": Find a pair of non-stretch jeans that fit you perfectly when you felt your healthiest. Use those as your gauge rather than the scale for the next month.
- Calculate Your BMR: Use a Mifflin-St Jeor formula calculator online to see what your body actually needs to function, then ensure you aren't eating below that number.
- Schedule a Strength Baseline: See how many squats or pushups you can do today. Set a goal to increase that number by 20% over the next six weeks, ignoring the scale entirely during that time.