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How much should a 17-year old weigh?

paul_in_utah's picture

Just a quick question that popped into my head, and I wanted to get the opinon of the masses. My SD17, aka "Butthead," is about 5'11", and currently weighs a little north of 200 pounds. DW swears up and down that she's "athletic," and "perfectly healthy," but I have to wonder about. I know she's tall, but I have a tough time believing any woman (or most men, for that matter) could call 200 pounds a "healthy" weight.

GoodbyeNormaJean's picture

At 5'11"? Pretty muscular? 200 lbs is fine. My DH is 6'2 and weighs 280 and is built like a brick...well...you know.

paul_in_utah's picture

Well, I wouldn't described her as muscular. Quite frankly, she's pretty flabby. She tried to belly dance one time, and her gut was flopping all over the place.

NCMilGal's picture

That's not bad for 5'11".

Bad is my sister, who is 200 lbs at 5'2".

SD16 is extremely "fluffy" at 180 lbs at 5'5", but she's still young enough to make it work.

So yeah, only 25 lbs heavier than my SD and 6" taller? Not really a problem - now.

Biomomof2's picture

I'm 5'9. My health weight is 135-160. 5 pounds per inch so ..145-170.. She is over weight but not too much.

LRP75's picture

I'm also 5'9" and weight approx. 150ish. This is a women's size 6 for me.

I agree with you:

She's not obese, but could stand to lose a few.

Stepmom_Lori's picture

She may be 15-20lbs more than ideal for her height but its not too bad. It really depends on her build, everyone carries weight differently.
To be completely honest, I'm 5'8" weigh about 203 and I run 5 miles every morning and lift weights 5 times a week. I'm muscular and in great shape but just bigger than the average person for my height. People never guess my correct weight if I ask them, they assume I weigh much less than I do. If I weighed what the charts say I should, which is about 150, I would look like a bobble head.

Invisible Woman's picture

It depends on her build. You can tell by looking at her wrist.

Her BMI would be 27.9, which is overweight, but that's not always accurate. Some people can have a healthy BMI and have a high body fat if they have a thin frame and very muscular body builders can be considered obsese by their BMI.

I have a friend who is about 5'10 and thin as a rail. She has digestive problems and has to take supplements. She's probably 150 lbs and would be horribly overweight at 200 lbs. But women with a bigger frame and more muscle might still be healthy at that weight.

Madam Hedgehog's picture

Unless she is EXTREMELY muscular, I would say she is overweight. I do know some exceptionally muscular women who are close to 30 or 40 pounds over their recommended BMI. But they work out like mad and it is OBVIOUS that they are just more muscular than the average woman.

If she is not working out consistently and the extra weight is not muscle, then I'd definitely say she is overweight.

It would be easier to access her health by looking at her activity levels though. Can she jog? Does she exercise? What's she eating?

my.kids.mom's picture

She is overweight. Have you people never read his posts? LOL She's a typical lazy teenager.

Helena.Handbasket's picture

This

Rags's picture

My wife is 5'11" and was very healthy at 135#. She peaked at well over 220# and is now back below 200#. Unless your SD is a weight lifter or a line backer she is not at a healthy or athletic weight. Her healthy weight is 135-160.

When I was a HS and university athelete I was at 175#-185#. I swam, ran track and played football. I am 6'1". At 265 (my peak) I was a lard ass. I am still a lard ass but I am a shrinking lard ass. At 48yo the weight is uncomfortable and I am working my ass off (literally) to get back to a comfortable weight where I can hike and work out without feeling like I got my ass kicked. My healthy weight is 185-200 though 180 is the target I have in my mind.

More importantly I have to do something since my bride is putting so much effort in.

In my experience of course.

doll faced sm's picture

Just for funsies, I looked up a BMI calculator. At 5'11" and 200 lb, her bmi is 27.9. NIH considers 27.3 the highest for a "healthy" weight, so she's only slightly overweight by definition.

On the other hand, my DH is 6'2" and tries to stay around 185. When he gets to about 195, he starts calling himself "fat."

paul_in_utah's picture

She eats crap, mostly. She can sit on the couch an down an entire bag of chips in an hour or so. Has been known to scarf down all but one or two Oreos in a bag (that way, she can say that she "left some"). Up until recently, she also ate a lot of fast food, b/c DW was too busy to cook much. Since DW quit working, she has been cooking at home more, so SD's diet has improved a little.

As someone mentioned, SD17 is your typical lazy skid. She never exercises, and seldom leaves the house. No chores either (see my next post).

capt_lou's picture

Everyone that is saying that a teenage girl that is 5'11" and 200lbs is normal cause she is "big boned or mostly muscle" are crazy.

Unless she is on some kind of HGH or testosterone replacement for body building a teenage GIRL at that height should be 140-150.

Saying that someone who is borderline obese is fine, is just trying to justify their own weight issues. This is a prime example of why we are the #1 obese nation in the world.

My Ex and myself watch what my daughter eats and makes sure that she is active so she does not grow up with weight issues, which will cause social outcast, ridicule and in the end health issues.

paul_in_utah's picture

This is kind of what I was thinking, somewhere around 150.

For those who wondered, I am not encouraging Butthead or DW to get Butthead's weight down. I was just wondering if my own views of this subject are out of line.

stormabruin's picture

I think that men who make a big deal over a woman's weight/appearance when there isn't really a big deal to be made has been a major contributor to the number of young girls & women who suffer from eating disorders & who suffer with low self-image.

stormabruin's picture

Yet he has already stated that he doesn't intend to try to encourage her to get her weight down. He only wants confirmation that he's right.

capt_lou's picture

That's fine, I was responding to your comment about girls and their suspected eating disorders due to men and their alleged perceptions to wanting a skinny girl.

I am not going to debate that, some guys want a skinny girl, others like a big girl.

I am tired of my rising health insurance due to the amount of money that it costs to treat people of this country due to their health conditions that are brought on by obesity.

I get sick of seeing young kids that are over weight and their enabling parents saying "it's OK, just as long as you love yourself"

stormabruin's picture

I understand that. I do feel it's important to teach kids the importance of being healthy. I am also tired of paying outrageous health insurance premiums.

However, being the same height & having been the same weight as Paul is describing, I also know that he's embellishing her weight/appearance to make his description juicy. Yes, she is overweight, but her health isn't his concern.

He's just looking for validation in calling her a pig.

stormabruin's picture

I'm 5'11" & have been north of 200 lbs. I was overweight, but never was my gut big enough to "flop all over the place". I have a medium build. If I were to weigh what the charts say a woman my height should weigh I'd be sickly.

According to my doctor, given my height & structure, an ideal weight is around 172.

She's 17 years old & not your child. You don't even like her. Are you looking for justification in picking on her weight?

It really seems like you're just looking for people to jump on the "she's fat & nasty" wagon with you.

paul_in_utah's picture

You know, posting on this site is a way to release frustration. I am not allowed to parent my SD in ways that I see fit (or that most normal people would find acceptable), so I come on here to find out that I'm not crazy. It helps me cope.

DeeDeeTX's picture

I don't think she's obese, but 200 lbs is certainly overweight. And unless shes a high level athlete that's certainly not all muscle.

I'm 5'6 and weigh about 160 which is chunky as well, but at least I know it!!

capt_lou's picture

So in your comparison you are saying that 10lbs a inch is normal?

And don't pull this BMI cracker jack crap out. In the fitness industry no one uses it due to the amount of variables that it does not take into account for.

I would rather know what her body fat percentage is. That gives a true indication of how over weight she is.

stormabruin's picture

Maybe bones do not contribute a lot to weight. However, the larger the bones are, the more muscle & tissue there will be, so yes...structure does contribute to weight.

stormabruin's picture

There are tall large-structured people. There are short small-structured people. There are tall small-structured people & there are short large-structured people. Tall doesn't necessarily = large bone structure. I was just saying that someone with a large bone structure will weigh more than a person the same height with a small bone structure.

capt_lou's picture

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^

I could be 6 feet tall 200lbs and have a BF% of 3%
Another person could be 6 feet tall, 200lbs and have a bf% of 30%

Second guy is overweight. This is what we are talking bout not how she looks.

not2sureimsaneanymore's picture

Yup. Bone structure matters SO MUCH.

A friend of mine is 130 at 5"5... she's just a tad chubby but you'd never know it if you weren't looking close. But... her bones are TINY. At her healthiest body-fat percentage (according to the charts), she weighed just 110.

I have small bones too and am well aware that I have a higher body fat percentage than I should. I consume way more Mcdonalds than I should, slap butter on everything, but my weight is 110 at 5'. When I was actively doing sports in HS, eating healthy (under 2k calories a day), I was 98lbs. I haven't grown taller since then, just wider.

(although my current habits may be what's contributing to my high cholesterol. When I tell people I have a cholesterol number of 240, they look at me horrified. You're not fat, they say. Maybe not by visual standards but I am damn well not where I'm supposed to be.

My doctor actually called me frantically about my cholesterol. She was more surprised than I was.)

Edit: Lol and here is me thinking about Taco Bell for lunch.

not2sureimsaneanymore's picture

Oh I totally get that. What I mean is you can't always use what a person LOOKS like to determine if they have the right amount of fat for their body.

The big boned people may have a smaller body fat percentage than someone small boned, but LOOK bigger and thicker.

paul_in_utah's picture

Noted.

starfish's picture

5'11" at 200 lbs, she's FAT!

5'9" at 175 lbs is hefty, too, just not nearly as FAT as the 200 lb'er.

i am not saying it's gross to everyone, some may find it sexy in a weird ass fetish kind of way.

invidia's picture

I am not sure what a good/ideal weight should be for a 17 year old girl that is 5'11" but is sounds like behavior and diet you have described could be detrimental to her health.

Agged and Fragged's picture

I just want to comment in a general manner about weight/numbers/BMI, mainly because I'm a woman who IS big boned and had seriously lifted weight in the past and have been tortured by this issue since I was 15. My healthy weight is well above 150, I near starved myself to get below there because I had it in my mind that I needed to because "a girl shouldn't weigh that much."

Thinking that "certain numbers" are appropriate for a person's (especially woman's) weight, just because "that's too heavy for a woman" is sort of out-of-kilter thinking. Applying specific numbers (i.e., oooo, she's a girl, she shouldn't weight over 135) is the root of a lot of problems in our culture.

That being said, you can look at someone and know if they're fat or not (weight lifters love to say the best judge of progress is your mirror).

However, we are talking about a 17 y/o person here. Paul, I realize you're not crazy about your stepdaughter (not with that nickname) but honestly, there ain't a lot you can do about HER weight at this age if she's not interested or concerned. You can be honest the next time she or her mother makes some comment about her figure (i.e., to the question, doesn't Butthead look great, reply, no, she looks good, she'd look great if she'd drop 20). But she's nearly an adult. You can't make her count calories or exercise unless it's something she wants to do. You can control the type and quality of food that comes into the house, reduce/eliminate eating out/fast food but the rest would be dependent on her interest level, motivation and drive *shrug*

stormabruin's picture

He's already stated he not interested in encouraging her to lose weight or be healthy. He's simply looking for people to agree with him that she's fat.

It has nothing to do with care or concern for her health. He just doesn't like her & is looking for justification & support in calling her fat.

It's people (mainly men) like him we owe props to for the masses of daughters, sisters, mothers, etc who die from anorexia & bulemia every day because they are judged about being "fat".

stormabruin's picture

I absolutely agree that it's no more okay to make rude remarks about thin women.

I've been on both sides of this. Growing up I ate everything I shouldn't have & nothing I should have. I was skinny. I was TOO skinny. I made an effort to gain & I couldn't.

Of course, I hit 25 & suddenly I was seeing everything I'd eaten growing up finally making a show. I was gaining 10 lbs/year steadily & I ended up overweight. I topped out at 216.

My ex was 6'4" & 310 lbs. When we met I was 134 lbs & wearing a size 8. When I left I was 212 lbs & wearing a 16. When we married he wanted a woman with some meat. I got some meat & then I was fat. All of this judgement coming from a 310 lb ass.

I can support the message from the "big & beautiful" campaigns in that confidence is important. I do not support the message that we must embrace & accept our big & beautiful bodies as they are. Health is important & that mindset is a crutch that is used to excuse us sitting back & do nothing as we turn our bodies into ticking timebombs. That's nothing to have confidence in.

That said, being underweight is not something to be prideful of either. It's equally dangerous. That kills people too.

I guess in my experience, when I was too skinny I was well aware of it. I didn't need other people to tell me I was too skinny or tell me I should put some meat on my bones. It was brought to my attention every morning when I looked in the mirror. Just the same, when I was overweight, I knew it. I didn't need people to tell me my ass was big. I didn't need people to point out my flabby gut. I was reminded every morning when I buttoned my pants or when I had to change my shirt because it was too tight around my middle.

My problem with this blog is the fact that Paul isn't addressing her weight as a health risk. He isn't concerned. He isn't trying to bring any resolve to high insurance rates. He's just picking on an overweight girl he doesn't like.

I could understand it better if he was blogging about something she does that bothers him. But if he isn't concerned about her health, I see no reason for him to need to bitch about her weight.

The attitude & effort is shallow & superficial. Just my thoughts.

dancingwatermom's picture

I know this will be lost in all of the other posts but I just wanted to say that I am 5 11 and currently just started weight watchers. For my height I am supposed to be between 140 and 160 to be considered healthy weight. I am not between those two numbers hense Weight Watchers now. I think your SD should get a handle on her weight now before it becomes a problem in the future.

cpreston's picture

Dwm and others who have noted that it’s not really about her “weight” it’s about her health are right

My x’s DD was a senior in HS when I had my daughter, I’m no skinny Minnie, but when I was 9 months pregnant, I still weighed less than she… she led a life of inactivity and was never given any ‘rules’ about what she could and could not eat

I tried to keep healthy food in the house, but she whined and cried that I was being mean, so he’d go to the store and buy her soda and chips and cookies, and whatever the heck else she wanted… just like they always did… I never said a word to her about her weight, I tried to do what I could for her in a nice way, by making sure that good for you food was around, but she probably had other “issues” surrounding food that I wasn’t even remotely going to come close to breaking through.

I’m not about trying to be the Food Nazi when it comes to feeding my kids, but I do give guidelines and keep healthy food in the house.

We have treats on occasion, but for the most part, there’s a bowl of fresh fruit in the house and skim milk in the fridge, and a well balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner… with the occasional meal out for something like Vietnamese or Pizza… As I have gotten older and less active, I have put on a few pounds and I need to work that out for myself, but I’m not going to over obsess about it in front of my kid, because I don’t want to do to her what my Mom did to me (that I see my sister do to her daughter) obsess about weight

I know it’s your step-kid, but maybe you can talk to your wife about just not keeping the junk in the house.
P.S> I don’t mean this to sound judgmental, but I work 40+hours a week, and commute more than two hours a day, with a little bit of planning and help from my daughter and husband, I put dinner on the table nearly every night.
A rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, with salad from the salad bar is just as easy as going through the drive-thru at Mickey Dees and WAY better for you
Do you help your wife when it comes to meal preparation?
Can you get your step-daughter involved in helping to plan meals and food to have in the house?

Maybe you can give her incentives for getting active… my Older DD had a friend who struggled with her weight in her late teens, and her parents paid for her to take kick boxing lessons… she said it was the best thing that ever happened to her, she lost weight and got to get out all that ‘teen frustration’ that kids have with their parents!

stormabruin's picture

He's not concerned about her weight or her health. He doesn't care. He said as much. He's just wanting to point out that she's fat.

KolzigOlaf's picture

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