BMI for a 5'6" 160 lb male or female

BMI is a quick and easy measurement to find out if you're a healthy weight. While it has its flaws, it can be quite useful if you're aware of your own body composition and use it in conjunction with other metrics for personal health.

The BMI for a 5'6" 160 lb male or female is 25.8.

According to the CDC, this would be considered overweight for all adults age 20 and older. A BMI is classified as overweight if it's 25 to 29.9.

What does it mean to be overweight? Read on to find out more or calculate another BMI.

Learn more about what it means to be overweight

While being overweight might not look that different from being a healthy weight, it can come with a number of health risks if not addressed.

Being overweight can put someone at increased risk of cardiovascular problems such has high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke.

Being overweight also makes it more likely for someone to develop type 2 diabetes. Excess weight, particularly abdominal fat, can contribute to insulin resistance and therefore diabetes.

Some sometimes overlooked problems with being overweight are that it places more stress on your joints, particularly the knees, hips, and ankles. It can also affect respiratory health, putting pressure on the diaphragm and chest, making it more difficult to breathe. This can be a problem when working out or if you get a respiratory illness.

If you’re concerned about being overweight, it’s important to talk to your primary care physician or another medical professional. They can help determine the underlying causes, assess your nutritional needs, and develop a plan to achieve a healthy weight in a sustainable manner.

Important notes about BMI

While BMI is useful for categorizing someone's weight status, it isn't able to take into account someone's unique body composition, muscle mass, or overall metabolic health. For example, athletes and bodybuilders with high muscle mass may be classified as overweight or even obese based on their BMI despite being in great shape and having a low body fat percentage. Similarly, people with osteoporosis could have lower BMIs due to decreased bone density.

These are extreme examples, but they do illustrate the limitations of using BMI only to evaluate your body weight. That's why alternative measures such as waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, and body fat percentage can often provide a more accurate assessment of someone's health.

Of course, there are benefits to BMI: it's a quick, easy, and free way to get a rough idea of what kind of shape you're in, and you can track it over time to identify changes. And if you're not a bodybuilder or don't have health issue that could skew your BMI, it's a pretty good indicator of your weight status.

What's the formula for calculating BMI?

The formula for calculating BMI is weight (lb) / [height (in)]² x 703. In the case of someone who is 5'6" and 160 lbs, the formula would be [160 / 66²] x 703, with a result of 25.8.

What's a healthy weight for someone who is 5'6"?

BMI chart for 5'6" and 145 - 175 lbs

BMI for 5'6" and 160.1 - 160.9 lbs

Sources

• About Adult BMI - CDC

Disclaimer

The information on this page is intended to be an educational reference and is not to be taken as medical advice. If you think you're having a hypertensive or hypotensive emergency, or if you're having any kind of medical emergency, please call 911 immediately.