Finding the normal weight for 5 11 woman isn't as simple as glancing at a dusty poster in a doctor's office. You’re tall. Being 5'11" puts you in the 99th percentile for height among women in the United States. When you're hovering near six feet tall, the way your body carries mass is fundamentally different from someone who is 5'4".
Most people just point to the Body Mass Index (BMI). It’s easy. It’s fast. But it's also a math equation from the 1830s that wasn't even designed by a physician. Honestly, it can be a bit of a trap for the "statuesque" crowd.
The numbers everyone quotes (and why they're tricky)
According to the standard BMI scale—the one used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO)—the normal weight for 5 11 woman falls between 132 and 179 pounds.
That’s a massive range.
Forty-seven pounds, to be exact. It’s the difference between looking like a marathon runner and looking like a powerlifter. If you weigh 133 pounds at 5'11", you have a BMI of 18.6, which is barely inside the "healthy" bracket. On the flip side, at 178 pounds, you're at 24.8, right on the edge of "overweight."
But here’s the kicker.
The BMI formula uses a simple calculation: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared ($BMI = kg/m^2$). This works okay for average-sized people. But for tall women, it often underestimates how much bone and muscle you actually have. A 5'11" woman has a much larger skeleton than a 5'2" woman. Your bones are longer, your density is higher, and you have more surface area.
The "New BMI" and the height factor
Oxford mathematician Nick Trefethen famously argued that the standard BMI formula is flawed because it doesn't account for the way humans grow in three dimensions. He proposed a "New BMI" formula that scales better for tall people. Under his math, the normal weight for 5 11 woman actually shifts upward.
Instead of being "overweight" at 180 pounds, the New BMI suggests that for someone your height, 185 or even 190 pounds might be perfectly healthy if your body composition is right.
Muscle is dense. It’s heavy.
If you're an athlete—maybe you play volleyball or you're into CrossFit—you might find yourself "failing" the standard weight chart while having a 22% body fat percentage, which is lean for a woman. This is where the scale becomes a liar. It can't tell the difference between a gallon of water, five pounds of fat, or a dense slab of leg muscle.
Body frame size changes everything
Have you ever looked at your wrists? It sounds weird, but it's a classic clinical trick to determine frame size.
A woman who is 5'11" with a "small frame" (a wrist circumference under 6.25 inches) will naturally feel and look healthy at the lower end of the weight spectrum, perhaps around 140–150 pounds. However, if you have a "large frame" (wrists over 6.75 inches), your skeleton alone accounts for a significant chunk of your weight. For a large-framed woman of this height, dropping below 155 pounds might actually look gaunt or lead to health issues like amenorrhea or bone density loss.
Metabolism plays a role too. Being tall is basically like driving a truck instead of a compact car. You have a higher Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) just because there's more of you to keep alive. You burn more calories sitting still than a shorter person does.
What the experts actually look at
Doctors like those at the Mayo Clinic are moving away from the scale as the sole "truth." They look at Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) and Waist-to-Height Ratio.
For a 5'11" woman (71 inches), your waist should ideally be less than 35 inches to keep your risk of cardiovascular disease low. Honestly, your waist measurement tells a much more accurate story about your health than the number on the scale ever will. Visceral fat—the stuff that sits around your organs—is the real enemy, not the weight of your femur.
Then there’s the "Old School" Devine Formula. Originally used to calculate medication dosages, it suggests an "Ideal Body Weight" (IBW) for a 5'11" woman of about 160 pounds.
But again, that’s just a baseline.
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- Age matters: As you get older, a slightly higher BMI (around 25–27) has actually been linked to better survival rates in older adults—it’s called the "obesity paradox," though it's really just about having a bit of reserve.
- Bone Density: Tall women are at a higher risk for osteoporosis later in life. Carrying a bit more "normal" weight can actually be protective for your bones.
- Lifestyle: A sedentary 140-pound woman might be "skinny fat," meaning she has high internal fat levels despite a low weight, while a 180-pound active woman could be metabolically perfect.
The reality of the 5'11" physique
It’s easy to get caught up in the fashion industry’s version of a 5'11" woman. We see runway models who are this height and weigh 120 pounds. That is not a "normal weight." In fact, by medical standards, that is severely underweight (a BMI of roughly 16.7).
Life at 5'11" means you can fluctuate five pounds in a single day and nobody will even notice. You have the "vertical real estate" to hide weight, which can be both a blessing and a curse. You might not realize you're gaining unhealthy fat until it's quite a bit, but you also don't need to panic if the scale jumps after a salty meal.
Actionable steps for your health
Stop obsessing over 145 pounds just because a chart said so.
First, get a smart scale that measures body fat percentage or, better yet, get a DEXA scan. This will tell you exactly how much of your 5'11" frame is bone, muscle, and fat. It’s the gold standard.
Second, watch your strength, not just your size. If you can carry groceries, climb stairs without getting winded, and maintain a consistent menstrual cycle, your body is likely in its happy place.
Third, measure your waist-to-height ratio. Divide your waist circumference by your height. If the result is 0.5 or less, you're likely in a healthy metabolic zone, regardless of what the total weight says.
Focus on how your clothes fit. If your jeans are getting tight but you're hitting new personal bests in the gym, you aren't getting "fat"—you're getting stronger. For a woman of your stature, muscle is your best friend for long-term mobility and metabolic health. Eat for your height, move for your heart, and let the scale be the least interesting thing about you.
Find your "set point"—that weight where your energy is high and your hunger is stable. For many 5'11" women, that sweet spot sits comfortably between 155 and 175 pounds. Trust your biology over a 200-year-old math equation.