Is 5 foot, 170 ok?

arlyne23

I have a friend who is 5'1" and 170 lbs. She's 21 yrs old and mildly interested in dieting. Would you consider this overweight? She said BMI isn't that important because it doesn't show body fat.

She should weigh 115 to 129 for a md frame. She thinks she looks fine. I would describe her as a "Cabbage Patch Doll" appearance. I know there are health risks associated with those who are overweight. I really didn't know what to tell her when she told me she looked fine.

cheetahcub2010

I'm 5' 6" and when I was 170 I could tell i was no longer healthy and becoming over weight. I have a larger fram so I allow myself some wiggle room with BMI. 170 and 5' does NOT sound Okay to me.

2bFitNTrim

I think she is overweight, but it really doesn't matter what we think. She seems content with herself, so I wouldn't say anything about it. The only exception I might make is if it were someone very close to me, but even then, I'd tread very lightly.

spammyanna

I am 5'4" and I was 177, and obese. So I don't think that 170 is a healthy weight for someone who is that short.

But you can't make her want to lose weight, she has to want to change for herself.

And it sounds like she isn't ready.

FitBridget

She'd have to have a massive amount of muscle for that not to be overweight. That being said, you can't convince someone else that they need to lose weight.

hajjcomb

For an NFL fullback that would be fine.

Sounds like she is overweight to me, as it doesn't sound like she is packing a lot of muscle, like body building amounts of muscle.

tasoconnor

I am 5'6" and my goal is to be about 170 which is still overweight considered on bmi

Jessicaallen48

Well, Considering the height and weight, I would think that she may be over weight. I am 5'5" and I knew that I needed to lose weight at 160. I am by in no means an expert but I read about visible and not visible fats. I think it is called visceral fat. That the fat that you cannot see. Your body stores this fat around very important organs. Everyone has it but an excess of it can be very significant to your health. The best way to tell if she is healthy and get the right facts about dieting would be to visit a doctor. I hope this helps.

killagb

I'm a 5 foot 9 inch tall male...and I currently weigh 165lbs(5lbs to my goal)...5'1" and 170 is absolutely overweight, male or female.

NYCDutchess

That is VERY heavy for 5'. Now if she is a big booty, big chested girl, maybe she can carry some extra pounds, but I would say not more than 130. I'm glad that she is happy the way she is though, that's better than most as long as she's healthy.

cocolo89

i was 170 at 5'5 and boy was i fat. i had huge legs =, huge, stomach and not to forget i was outta shape. didn't exercise a day of my life til i finally got motivation to lose weight )

taso42

Denial

NYCDutchess

I'm a 5 foot 9 inch tall male...and I currently weigh 165lbs(5lbs to my goal)...5'1" and 170 is absolutely overweight, male or female.

I have to disagree for a male. For a male 5'9 I would say over 200 is overweight. ESPECIALLY if the guy is muscular. But again it's all relative.

Corruptkitten

Unfortunately, unless she is unhappy or presented with health findings by a doctor she probably won't do anything to change her habits and live a healthier life

killagb

I'm a 5 foot 9 inch tall male...and I currently weigh 165lbs(5lbs to my goal)...5'1" and 170 is absolutely overweight, male or female.

I have to disagree for a male. For a male 5'9 I would say over 200 is overweight. ESPECIALLY if the guy is muscular. But again it's all relative.

I made no mention as to being overweight at my height(5'9")....I said 5'1". Males can be 5'1" too...

I do expect I personally may gain at some point for muscle mass and I am just barely into the healthy BMI for my height.(close to overweight BMI)

eta: I started MFP out at 185lbs, I was most certainly overweight, not by a LOT(25lbs), but I was.

SueInAz

I have a friend who is 5'1" and 170 lbs. She's 21 yrs old and mildly interested in dieting. Would you consider this overweight? She said BMI isn't that important because it doesn't show body fat.

She should weigh 115 to 129 for a md frame. She thinks she looks fine. I would describe her as a "Cabbage Patch Doll" appearance. I know there are health risks associated with those who are overweight. I really didn't know what to tell her when she told me she looked fine.

She's not only overweight, she's very overweight. She's also obviously in denial. You can't force someone to lose weight, it's something she has to want to do. You could "agree" with her on the body fat vs. BMI issue and then suggest that she have her body fat tested. There are simple ones, not completely accurate, that you can do just with a tape measure and an online calculator. Seeing her body fat % might be more of a wake up call or at least another ***** in her wall of denial.

ETA: C'mon MFP, you blanked out the word c-h-i-n-k? Does anyone even use that as a racial slur anymore. Sheesh.

anubis609

Well, if she feels fine the way she is and "mildly interested" in maintaining a healthier diet, then there's pretty much nothing else you can do about it. Personally, it doesn't sound like she's interested in achieving optimal health.

Rae6503

If she isn't interested in dieting, she isn't interested in dieting. You can't force her. Good for her for being comfortable with herself. If she feels the need to become healthier (that weight is probably NOT the healthiest for her but who is to say it's "unhealthy" besides her or her doctor) then you can help her.

theperfectratio

I'm 5' 6" and when I was 170 I could tell i was no longer healthy and becoming over weight. I have a larger fram so I allow myself some wiggle room with BMI. 170 and 5' does NOT sound Okay to me.

Ditto here. 5 ft 7 in, and I felt overweight at 165. Even ignoring BMI, she can do an online body fat calculator to give her a general sense of how unhealthy she is. They aren't as accurate as if you're doing it w/a doctor using calipers, but they will still give her a good idea of how many lbs of body weight are actually _fat_ pounds, not healthy muscle/bone/etc.

robin52077

Denial

this.

she is fat.
you know it and deep down inside somewhere, she knows it too.
She's just not "ready".

Qarol

She thinks she looks fine.

good enough for me...

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

You don't have to agree with her that it's ok, but you definitely shouldn't make her feel bad about it because she probably feels bad already, whether she admits it or not. When she's ready to lose weight she will. I'm 5'4" and 169 lbs was the breaking point for me, where I realized that I really needed to get in shape. My doctor did tell me that with my frame I should be on the high end of the healthy BMI range (I'm never going to be 110 lbs, 135 is a healthier goal for me) so it can differ from person to person, but not that much. Maybe instead of arguing the point you could invite her to do healthy things with you, like walking.

ilookthetype

She thinks she looks fine.

good enough for me...

Ditto. Don't make her feel badly about herself. It's not optimal, sure, but if she's happy at her weight she's not going to change, don't mess her up about her body, though.

taso42

I have to disagree for a male. For a male 5'9 I would say over 200 is overweight. UNLESS the guy is muscular. But again it's all relative.

fixed that for you

BigDaddyBRC

If she's comfortable with where she is and dotors are not pressuring her abot her health...she's fine.
Besides, she could have a lead foot like me and that's at least 60 pounds

BigDaddyBRC

You don't have to agree with her that it's ok, but you definitely shouldn't make her feel bad about it because she probably feels bad already, whether she admits it or not. When she's ready to lose weight she will. I'm 5'4" and 169 lbs was the breaking point for me, where I realized that I really needed to get in shape. My doctor did tell me that with my frame I should be on the high end of the healthy BMI range (I'm never going to be 110 lbs, 135 is a healthier goal for me) so it can differ from person to person, but not that much. Maybe instead of arguing the point you could invite her to do healthy things with you, like walking.

^^^^^^^^^ Well stated

samb

I am 5' tall and I can't imagine being above 127 lbs which is the end of the "normal" range in BMI. I am not a believer in BMI, however, but I can tell you that I looked overweight IMO at 127 and I was very unhappy and felt unhealthy. Supposedly 112lbs is the healthiest weight for 5', which is the center of the "normal" BMI range and I don't feel too great unless I am at 112 or below, so even though I don't believe in BMI it does seem pretty accurate for me at least. My goal is 105 and I think that's where I will be best. I can't imagine being comfortable at 5' at 170 lbs but everyone is different too.

Bluestar083

No. It's fat.

withchaco

While BMI does not account for body fat/ muscle ratio, chances are, a female who's 5' 1" and 170lbs is carrying quite a bit of excess body fat. A "normal" girl at that height would be around 110lbs, and you can add maybe 15 pounds of muscle weight to that... not likely unless she's lifting weights on a regular basis, but let's just add them. Add 5 more pounds just in case she has a thick frame. You're still talking about 40 pounds of excess fat.

I'm 5' 1.5" and I was 170lbs not too long ago. I know how fat I was at that weight. Hell, I am 135.5lbs now and I STILL have a lot to lose.

That said, losing weight is her choice. It's not something anyone else can decide for her. If she doesn't want to lose weight, there's not much you can do about it. It is generally futile to pressure unwilling people.

However, I find it curious that she is "mildly interested in dieting," even when she's saying she looks fine...

adventuring

It's not really your concern, and it's certainly not ours. She's an adult, and you're only friends; let her take care of herself.

dmpizza

In many ways she looks fine. She isn't sick, she probably has a nice smile, etc.. So yes, she "looks nice", But.....................

Ask her to carry 40 or 50 pounds and see how she likes it. That is what she carries constantly. Imagine the energy she would have freed of that.

Additionally, years ago I saw a study comparing girls' weight versus whether or not they have a boyfriend.
The graph is flat until the amount of excess weight hits 30 pounds and then it drops off dramatically. So, if your friend wants a boyfriend or two, she increases her odds by losing a few pounds.


Anyway, its her decision, she probably knows all this.