A 5-foot-5 woman who weighs 150 pounds is healthy and within a healthy weight range. Her body mass index, or BMI, is 21.8. A BMI from 18.5 to 24.9 is considered healthy.

A 5-foot-5 woman who weighs 150 pounds is at the lower end of her healthy weight range, which runs from 122 to 168 pounds for that height. She would also be considered overweight if her BMI was 25 or higher. A person is classified as obese if his/her BMI is 30 or greater.

Studies show that people who are overweight but not obese have a higher risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer than those who are at a healthy weight (but not underweight). On the other hand, people who are underweight have an increased risk of health problems like osteoporosis and eating disorders like bulimia nervosa (bingeing and purging) and anorexia nervosa (excessive dieting).

The best way to determine whether you’re at a healthy weight for your height is to check your body mass index (BMI) with our free online BMI calculator .

Last modified: October 15, 2022