Age and Weight Chart

Age and weight charts provide generalized weight averages related to age. These charts let you know where your weight stands with others in your age group, but they don't necessarily help people determine what your ideal weight should be, because they don't figure in factors such as height, BMI (Body Mass Index) or frame.

Are You Big Boned or Overweight?

"I'm big boned," is a mantra many of us fall back on to justify the extra weight we carry. This is often a form of denial that stems from the reluctance to make the necessary lifestyle changes to bring ourselves into the normal weight range for our age, height and gender. To determine whether or not your weight is right for your body, a couple of formulas follow:

Waist to Hip Ratio

While age and weight charts can give you a general indication of whether or not you are within a healthy weight range, they don't always accurately provide the information you need as an individual. One formula to apply to help realize the right weight for your individual body is the waist-hip ratio. To calculate, measure your waist at the smallest part and your hips at their widest. Then divide waist by hip for the measurement. Women's recommended measurement is no more than .8 and men no higher than 1.0. If your ratio is higher, it's an indication that you are storing belly fat.

BMI

A second tool to help determine the right body weight is the BMI (Body Mass Index). This is also determined from a standard calculation. BMI calculators can be found online, or use the following BMI formula to figure it out by hand.

BMI Formula

• Imperial Formula uses pounds and inches: BMI equals weight in pounds multiplied by 703 and divided by your height in inches.
• Metric Imperial Formula uses weight measured in kilograms and height measurements in centimeters or meters. Take your weight in kilograms and divide it by your height in meters.

What Your BMI Results Mean

Age and Weight Charts According to Gender

The following age and weight charts based on age only offer an average for each particular age group. They don't take into account height or frame size which really are big factors.

Average Weight for Females By Age

• Age 20 – 130 pounds
• Age 30 – 140 pounds
• Age 40 – 148 pounds
• Age 50 – 152 pounds
• Age 60 – 155 pounds
• Age 70 – 147 pounds

Male

• Age 20 – 160 pounds
• Age 30 – 175 pounds
• Age 40 – 180 pounds
• Age 50 – 185 pounds
• Age 60 – 182 pounds
• Age 70 – 180 pounds

Age and Weight Gain

You'll note that these charts show a gradual increase as a person ages, whether male or female. It's natural that you gain weight when they grow old. As you hit 40 or 50, you need fewer calories, but you may continue to eat as you did in younger years. This need for fewer calories is due to physiological changes that take place in the aging process such as:

• Less testosterone (men)
• Hormonal changes including menopause (women)

These hormonal changes result in weight gain as a part of aging if altering your calorie intake or increasing your activity level remains the same. It's important to eat healthy and exercise regularly if you hope to prevent mid-life weight gain. In fact, increasing your activity level is one of the best ways to thwart middle-age spread.

More Accurate Way to Determine Ideal Weight

Instead of following a general average weight for your age and gender, it really is better to determine your ideal weight based on your BMI and waist to hip ratio. Online tools such as the Healthy Body Calculator take into consideration all the above information to give you a more accurate assessment for your specific needs.

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