What Is the Average Adult Male Height and Weight?

While your weight can be a reflection of your current state of health, your height usually isn't. According to "Scientific American," 20 to 40 percent of your height is determined by environmental factors like nutrition, but 60 to 80 percent is determined by genetics. Whether you're tall, short or average, you can still be healthy. On the other hand, your weight is due mainly to the amount of fat and muscle mass you're carrying around. One quick way to tell if you're at a healthy weight is your body mass index (BMI), which takes into account your height and weight. If you're curious how you stack up against other men, here are the data about average height and weight of men around the world.

Your height is determined by a variety of factors, including genetics and environment. (Image: Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images)

Global Comparison of Average Adult Male Height

Infographic comparing average adult male height around the world. (Image: Demand Media Studios)

The average adult American male is 5 feet 9.5 inches tall, according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2007 and 2010. Averages vary by racial and ethnic groups. For example, the average adult non-Hispanic white male is 5 feet 9.8 inches tall and the average adult non-Hispanic black male is 5 feet 9.5 inches tall. The average height of adult Hispanic males is 5 feet 7.1 inches. Among adult Mexican American males -- who are also included in the category of Hispanic -- the average height is 5 feet 6.9 inches.

Height also varies by country. Here are a list of 15 countries and how they stack up with the US.

America: 5 feet 9.5 inches Canada: 5 feet 9 inches Mexico: 5 feet 5.75 inches Australia: 5 feet 8.75 inches Spain: 5 feet 10 inches Germany: 5 feet 11.25 inches The UK: 5 feet 9.75 inches Russia: 5 feet 9.25 inches China: 5 feet 5.75 inches Japan: 5 feet 7.25 inches Brazil: 5 feet 8.25 inches France: 5 feet 9.25 inches India: 5 feet 4.75 inches Greece: 5 feet 10.25 inches Italy: 5 feet 9.25 inches

The country with the tallest men is the Netherlands, where men are an average of 6 feet 0.25 inches. And the country with the shortest men is Indonesia, where they men average 5 feet 2.25 inches.

Global Comparison of Average Adult Male Weight

Infographic comparing average adult male weight around the world. (Image: Demand Media Studios)

The average adult American male (20 years and older) is 195.5 pounds, according to the CDC. As with height, averages vary by racial and ethnic groups. For example, the average adult non-Hispanic white male weighs 199.2 pounds, and the average adult non-Hispanic black male weighs 199.4. The average adult Hispanic males weight 186.1 pounds. Among adult Mexican American males -- who are also included in the category of Hispanic -- the average weight is 185.4.

Weight also varies by country. Here are a list of nine countries and how they stack up with the US.

America: 195.5 pounds Canada: 177 pounds Brazil: 160.3 pounds Chile: 170.4 pounds Germany: 181.7 pounds The UK: 185.2 pounds Finland: 181 pounds South Korea: 151.2 pounds Sweden: 180.6 pounds

Factors Influencing Height and Weight

There are a number of factors that influence how tall a person grows, though most of them fall into one of two categories: genetics and environment. The taller the rest of your family is, the more likely you are to be tall. As far as environmental factors, statistically speaking, children from families of higher socioeconomic classes are taller than their counterparts in lower socioeconomic classes. This primarily has to do with the quality of nutrition and healthcare provided to the children during critical growth periods.

While your weight does depend a little bit on genetic factors like the weight and metabolism of your parents and grandparents, for the most part, it depends on your lifestyle choices. If your diet primarily contains unhealthy, high-calorie foods and you get little exercise, you'll likely carry extra weight. If however, you eat a healthy, balanced diet and get plenty of exercise, your body will natural settle at an ideal weight.

How to Make Yourself Look Taller

Dress in clothes that fit you well in order to appear taller (and slimmer). (Image: altrendo images/Stockbyte/Getty Images)

So what can you do if you want to be taller? As a fully grown man, not much. But you can appear taller by practicing good posture, which gives you a few inches over a hunched posture, and wear clothing that fits you properly without being too baggy. Other style tips include dressing monochromatically, avoiding belts and vests, buttoning your coat or jacket above your bellybutton and wearing accessories only on the top portion of your body. Of course, you can always wear lifts in your shoes, too, for a temporary height boost.

Eating right and exercising also plays a role. Though a proper diet won't necessarily make you grow taller, getting plenty of vitamins and minerals through food sources will make you less likely to lose height as you age. And strength training builds bone density and develops the muscles that you'll need to stand up straight and tall well into old age.

How to Lose Weight

If you want to lose weight, your caloric output (the calories you burn each day) should exceed your caloric input (the calories you eat each day). In order to achieve this, you need to aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes for most days of the week, and your diet should focus on lean protein and fresh fruits and vegetables. It might also be helpful to track the calories you burn and consume on an app like Livestrong.com's MyPlate app, where you can enter the food you consume each day as well as track your exercise.