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What's my BMI? Is a 280 pound male overweight?

Is 280 lbs overweight for the average man?

According to the CDC, BMI is a good indicator of weight, for most people. For an average male at 5 feet 9, 280 pounds is a BMI of 41.3, which is considered obese. Of course, this will be different at different heights, so make sure you calculate the BMI for your specific weight, by using our calculator below. Another important thing to keep in mind is that even though at a certain height 280 lbs might be considered overweight or healthy, body composition and body fat percentage also factor in to whether or not this weight is a healthy weight for you.

280 lbs comes in all shapes and sizes.

Unfortunately it's quite not as simple as 280 lbs being overweight, underweight or obese, it's actually more important to compare the weight with your height. In order to reach the healthy BMI range of 18.5 to 24.9 BMI you would need to be in the height range of 7'7 to 8'7.

As BMI does not take gender into account, the range is the same for both males and females. Again, BMI is only useful as a guide, is not perfect and does not have any way to take into account the amount of muscle you have, or your body fat percentage.

So in summary, it seems that 280 lbs is considered obese for the average man.

It's important to understand that BMI is not perfect.

BMI is not a perfect way of measuring body fatness, but it does a pretty good job for most people. Athletes, or particularly muscular people will find that BMI is not specific enough to meet their needs, and it's probably worth looking into something like body fat percentage. BMI just gives us an easy way to quickly understand the ratio between someones height and someones weight, it does not take into account how much fat you are carrying versus muscle.

Try our BMI Calculator to learn everything about your BMI

Know your BMI? Go straight there.

Height and Weight BMI Health Chart for 280 Pounds (lbs)

Check out this table below to visually understand what heights are considered underweight, healthy, overweight and obese at 280 lbs.

Height Weight Level
4'9" Obese
4'10" Obese
4'11" Obese
5'0" Obese
5'1" Obese
5'2" Obese
5'3" Obese
5'4" Obese
5'5" Obese
5'6" Obese
5'7" Obese
5'8" Obese
5'9" Obese
5'10" Obese
5'11" Obese
6'0" Obese
6'1" Obese
6'2" Obese
6'3" Obese
6'4" Obese
6'5" Obese
6'6" Obese
6'7" Obese
6'8" Obese
6'9" Obese
6'10" Overweight
6'11" Overweight
7'0" Overweight

Here are some examples of what a 280 lbs male looks like

See More Progress Pics of 280 Pound Men