A 5’10 male falls within a healthy weight range of roughly 132 to 174 pounds, based on standard BMI guidelines. Most clinical formulas place the “ideal” weight closer to 166 pounds, but body frame, muscle mass, age, and where you carry fat all shift that number in meaningful ways.
The Standard Healthy Range
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s BMI table breaks weight into tiers for someone who is 5’10:
- Normal weight (BMI 19 to 24): 132 to 167 pounds
- Overweight (BMI 25 to 29): 174 to 202 pounds
- Obese (BMI 30 and above): 209 pounds or more
Two widely used clinical formulas narrow the target further. The Hamwi formula estimates an ideal weight of 166 pounds for a 5’10 man. The Devine formula, commonly used in pharmacy and medicine, arrives at about 161 pounds (73 kg). These formulas were designed decades ago as quick reference points, not as personalized health assessments, so treat them as a starting estimate rather than a hard target.
Why Frame Size Shifts the Number
Your bone structure changes how much you should weigh at any given height. A common rule of thumb adjusts the ideal weight by 10 percent based on frame size: subtract 10 percent for a small frame, keep it as is for a medium frame, and add 10 percent for a large frame. Using the Hamwi estimate of 166 pounds, that gives you a range of roughly 149 pounds for a smaller-framed man up to about 183 pounds for a larger-framed one.
You can get a rough sense of your frame size by wrapping your thumb and middle finger around your opposite wrist. If they overlap, you likely have a small frame. If they just touch, medium. If there’s a gap, large.
When BMI Gets It Wrong
BMI treats all weight the same, whether it comes from muscle or fat. A man who is 5’10 and 195 pounds with visible abs and years of strength training is in a completely different health situation than someone at 195 pounds who rarely exercises. BMI would classify both as overweight.
Body fat percentage gives a more useful picture. Research using national survey data defined “overweight” for men as a body fat percentage of 25 percent or higher, and “obesity” as 30 percent or higher. If you strength train regularly and your body fat stays below 25 percent, a weight above the BMI “normal” range may be perfectly healthy for you. The challenge is that body fat percentage is harder to measure accurately than stepping on a scale, but even a rough estimate from a gym’s calipers or a bioimpedance scale adds context that BMI alone can’t provide.
Waist Size Matters More Than You Think
Where your body stores fat is at least as important as how much you weigh. Fat that accumulates around your midsection, surrounding your organs, drives a disproportionate share of health risk. Two simple measurements can tell you a lot.
The first is raw waist circumference. For men, a waist measurement of 40 inches or more signals high risk for cardiovascular disease. The second is your waist-to-height ratio. Research published in PLOS ONE found this ratio is more predictive of years of life lost than BMI alone. The guideline is straightforward: keep your waist circumference below half your height. For a 5’10 man (70 inches tall), that means staying under 35 inches at the waist. You can measure this yourself with a tape measure at the level of your navel, standing relaxed and breathing normally.
A man at 185 pounds with a 33-inch waist is likely in better metabolic shape than a man at 170 pounds with a 37-inch waist, even though the lighter man has a “better” BMI.
How the Ideal Weight Changes With Age
If you’re over 65, the standard BMI targets may actually be too low. A large meta-analysis found that older adults with a BMI in the 23 to 24 range had the lowest mortality risk, not those in the 18.5 to 22 range that’s technically “normal.” Being on the lighter end of normal was associated with higher mortality: a BMI of 21 to 21.9 carried a 12 percent greater risk of death compared to the 23 to 24 range, and a BMI of 20 to 20.9 carried a 19 percent greater risk.
For a 5’10 man, a BMI of 23 to 24 translates to roughly 160 to 167 pounds. Mortality risk in the study didn’t start climbing on the heavier side until a BMI above 33, which is about 230 pounds at this height. The takeaway for older men: carrying a few extra pounds appears protective against frailty, falls, and the muscle loss that accelerates with aging. Unintentional weight loss in this age group is worth paying attention to.
Putting It All Together
For a 5’10 male with a medium frame, moderate activity level, and average muscle mass, the sweet spot lands between 155 and 175 pounds. That range keeps BMI in the normal zone, aligns with clinical formulas, and leaves room for natural variation. If you carry more muscle than average, you can comfortably sit above that range without health concern, provided your waist stays under 35 inches and your body fat stays below 25 percent. If you’re over 65, aiming for the 160 to 175 range is reasonable, and there’s less reason to pursue the leaner end of the BMI scale.
The single most practical thing you can do is combine your scale weight with a waist measurement. Together, those two numbers tell you far more about your health risk than either one alone.