When puberty hits, the male body starts growing, developing and changing. Over a decade, the height of young boys has been rapidly increasing. Due to their food consumption habits, involvement in various physical activities such as sports and work out sessions has led to better health and nutrition. There are even cases where a 15-year-old boy is as tall as 5ft 7 inches or so. Simultaneously there are also cases where some 15-year-olds are less than 5ft.
While genes play a main role in indicating how tall a boy ultimately is, it cannot be guaranteed. A tall father may end up having a shorter son or a shorter father may end up having a taller son. Additionally, some kids grow better than others during their developing years. In the end, there is no established pattern and a small number of things that may be done to add up a boy’s height.
In comparison to men in other parts of the world, the American male stands pretty much in the center of the national averages. The average height of men is just over 6 feet tall in countries like the Netherlands and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In some parts of Asia, mainly Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, the average height of men falls around 5ft 4 inches or less.
Meanwhile in Sudan, from the Nilotic people, the tallest men are found where the average height has been marked down at 6ft 3 inches.
The average height for men and how they have changed over the years are listed below in detail.
Average American male height
A decade ago, the average height of an American man was 69.3 inches, which was 67 inches over a century ago. Although this symbols a growth of more than 2 inches, the rate of growth that Americans are growing has, in fact, slowed comparative to other nations.
American men were supposedly the third among the tallest men in the world in the year 1896. This difference in growth is not because that Americans are shrinking; it is for the reason that men in other nations are growing at a speedier rate.
Over the past 50 years, American heights have stabilized. In every 20 years, American men have gained about 2 inches over their parents. But the heights of today’s American children are the same height as their parents. This is mainly due to better health and nourishment.
At present, the average male height in America is 5 ft 9 inches.
Average Male height In Indian
India has a very diverse population with a background of different socio-economic groups. Some Indian men will have a height of 5’10” or more and when some men are shorter. This is mainly due to over 500 million or more Indians live in utter poverty. So, they hardly eat protein and are super short like 5’4″.
Indian men were ranked at 101 out of 200 countries in the year 1914, whereas the ranking went down to 178 in 2014. Between the years 1914 and 2014, the average heights of Indian men have upgraded to 165 centimeters i.e. to 5ft 5 inches showing an increase of about 3 centimeters. Though the heights have increased at a national level when compared to average world height India still falls behind.
At present, the average male height in India is 166.3 cm i.e. 5ft 5.5 inches. Men in Punjab are tallest when compared to overall male height in India, whereas men in Jharkhand are apparently the shortest.
Average male height in the United Kingdom
In 1967, an average British male was 5 ft 7.5 inches tall. 50 years later, however, British men have grown suggestively. In comparison to the British man of 1967, he is also a lot healthier. The reason being pointed out that around 53 percent of British men smoked in 1967, whereas it has reduced to 20 percent at the moment. Another reason is that British men eat 500 calories more a day on average. In the sixties, the lifestyle pattern of the British men was such that only 2% of them lifted weights, unlike in the current time around 42% of British men lift weights.
When compared with the heights of males in the European countries the average British male is neither tall nor short. At present, the average height of a male in the United Kingdom is 175.3 cm i.e. 5ft 9 inches.
According to the Guinness Book of world records the tallest man till date is an American named Robert Pershing Wadlow (1918 – 1940) and he measured 8ft 11.1inches i.e. 272cm in height.
An Indian called Gul Mohammed (1957 – 1997) is the shortest man ever with a height of only 1ft 10.5inches i.e. 57.15cm tall.
Relationship Between Height And Weight
The height of a man is influenced by various factors. They include genetic factors and hereditary, food and nutrition, body cells and hormones, physical health and environmental factors etc. The height of a man is very much influenced by the weight he carries. Body-growth in men takes place until the age of 25 years. After that, the weight generally remains the same. 60% of the male body weight is water.
There are cases where a short man may weigh more as he may be carrying fat and a taller man may weigh less with less fat in his body. Bone weight also matters in a male body weight. The relationship between weight and height determines the body mass index. Weight includes water weight, muscle weight, and fat. By calculating body mass index, it helps one to know if they possess healthy weight or if they are under-weight or over-weight. A male with a slim body may look taller if he weighs less. Likewise, a male may look shorter than he actually is if he is obese.
The BMI, or Body Mass Index, is found out by a simple calculation by converting the weight into kilograms and dividing it by squaring the height in meters.
The above chart shows the standard weight for respective height.
As per the chart if the Body Mass Index is below 18.5 then the BMI is considered to be underweight. It is to be noted that an underweight BMI result may cause certain health risks.
If the Body Mass Index is between 18.5 and 24.9 then it is considered normal. This healthy body weight helps reduce any risk of serious health conditions and it indicates nearness to being fitness.
If the Body Mass Index is above 30 then the result is considered to be overweight. Being overweight on the heavier side may higher the risk of cardiovascular disease. By making proper lifestyle changes through healthy eating and an exercise routine will keep fitness intact and helps to improve health.
Average Height and Weight for Men
Though a man’s height may not be accurately predicted, there is a general approximation of how tall a boy may grow up at certain ages.
- Boys from age 2 to 9 years will have an average height of 34inches(2.83ft) at the beginning and reach up to an average of 50 inches(4.16ft) by the finish of the ninth year
- Boys from age 10 to 14 years will grow from 55 inches(4.6ft) to 65 inches (5.41ft)
- Boys from 15 to 18 years will grow rapidly from 68 inches(5.7ft) to 70 inches(5.8ft) and continue to grow incrementally for a few years after till 21 years
Just as the heights of men are listed for different countries, the weight also differs with the region they live in, the food consumption habits, genes, hereditary, hormones, lifestyle etc.
On an average, the weight of men in the United States and North America as a whole is greater than any other part of Earth. The average weight of U.S. men over the age of 20 has risen to 195.7 pounds, from 2011 to 2014. From 1988-1944 the average was 180.7 pounds. The average weight of men in the United States has increased by 15 Pounds. This is due to consumption of larger portions and many food items that higher in fat, it’s not a matter of surprise to find that the average weight of men in America has increased by about 15 pounds in the last two decades. At present, an average American male with a height of 5ft 9 inches weighs about 86.6 kg.
In the United Kingdom, in 1967 on an average, a male weighed around 69 kg. In 2008, 25% of men were categorized as obese as opposed to 7% in 1986. The main cause being they are driving more and cycling less. Most of them are employed in a deskbound job. Physical activity is gradually being eliminated from day-to-day life. At present, the average weight of men in the UK has increased to 83.6 kg
In India, the average male weight is 75 kg. It is seen that the weight has been increased by ten kg in the past ten years. The increase in the average weight is due to change in food habits, the inclusion of more junk food, lesser physical exercise.
The average weight of an adult man globally is 137 pounds or 62 kg.
Meters | Feet | Inches | weight in Kg |
1.57 | 5 | 2 | 56.2-60.3 |
1.60 | 5 | 3 | 57.6-61.7 |
1.63 | 5 | 4 | 59.0-63.5 |
1.65 | 5 | 5 | 60.8-65.3 |
1.68 | 5 | 6 | 62.2-66.7 |
1.70 | 5 | 7 | 64-0-68.5 |
1.73 | 5 | 8 | 65.8-70.7 |
1.75 | 5 | 9 | 67.6-72.6 |
1.78 | 5 | 10 | 69.4-74.4 |
1.80 | 5 | 11 | 71.2-76.2 |
1.83 | 6 | 0 | 73.0-78.5 |
1.85 | 6 | 1 | 75.3-80.7 |
1.88 | 6 | 2 | 77.6-83.5 |
1.90 | 6 | 3 | 79.8-85.7 |