Many competitive archers weigh more than is normal for their height

The summary today

It depends on who is measured, which is why the status is contested. In samples from East and Southeast Asia the mean body mass index almost always sits between 24 and 26, at the top of the normal range or just above it: 24.2 and 25.0 in twenty Korean high-school archers, 26.2 in twelve young Malaysians competing nationally, 24.1 and 24.4 in thirty-one Korean elite archers, 23.6 against 19.1 in twenty Malaysian teenagers compared with sedentary peers of similar height. The largest international sample, 51 elite archers from 22 countries, has a mean index of 24.6 with 45.1% overweight or above, but weight and height were reported by the archers themselves. On the other side, 33 Indian archers at national and international level stand at 22.6 and 22.4, with body fat estimated from skinfolds at an unusually low 5.3%, and 30 professional compound archers in Cyprus at 22.98; in an Indian comparison published in a questionable venue, 93 national-level archers actually sit below peers who do not shoot, and in five young Chinese archers competing nationally, also in a questionable venue, average weight and height fall within the normal range. There is also a limit that applies to all of them: body mass index does not tell muscle from fat, and where body composition is measured the picture changes from one sample to the next, from 16% fat in the Korean elite archers with about thirty kilos of muscle to 26.7% in the Malaysian teenagers. What the data allow us to say is that in many groups of archers the index sits at the top of the normal range; they do not say that the weight is fat, or that it is a health problem, because no study has linked it to injury or illness.

Also phrased as: "archers' body weight"; "overweight archers"; "body mass index in archery"; "archers' body composition"; "the archer's physique"

Evidence

• 2015
  Context Archers Published later

  5 young Chinese archers of Xibo ethnicity, boys aged 15 to 17 with good results in national competitions: height 174.66 ± 9.05 centimetres, weight 63.9 ± 5.2 kilograms, fat mass 11.11% with a standard deviation of 0.02 that is not plausible, lean mass 56.82 ± 6.79 kilograms. Body mass index is not reported; the average weight and height fall within the normal range. Conference proceedings in a venue with questionable editorial standards: under decision D7 it stays as context.

  Physique Characteristics of Ethnic Archers Based on R-cluster Matrix Questionable venue · Yunfeng Wang, Yinan Ma

• 2016
  For Archers Published later

  20 Korean high-school archers registered with the federation, with 6.5-6.8 years of practice: in the exercise group body mass index 24.20 ± 1.94 and body fat 19.67%, in the control group 25.04 ± 2.05 and 20.24%, with mean weights of 79.7 and 73.2 kilos. These are the baseline characteristics of a Pilates study, not a survey designed around weight.

  Effects of Pilates core stability exercises on the balance abilities of archers · Jeong-Min Park, Gwang-Suk Hyun, Yong-Seok Jee

• 2016
  Context Archers Published later

  10 male archers and 10 middle-distance runners with a seven-day food and activity diary: in the archers intake exceeds expenditure (3,733 against 3,391 kilocalories, 342 more), in the runners the opposite happens (5,118 against 5,463). The differences are descriptive only, in a venue with doubtful editorial standards.

  Analytical study of energy intake and expenditure of archery players and long distance runners Questionable venue · Kulbeer Singh

• 2019
  Context Archers Published later

  93 Indian national-level archers aged 16 to 25, 51 men and 42 women from academies in Mumbai, compared with 101 non-shooting peers from the same place: body mass index 22.8 ± 3.68 in the men and 20.41 ± 2.37 in the women, against 24.32 ± 2.75 and 21.16 ± 2.51 in the controls (analysis of variance across the four groups, F = 17.10, p = 0.001, with no pairwise comparisons). Body fat, 18.08% and 24.49%, is derived from the index with an equation, so it is not an independent measure. A venue with questionable editorial standards: it would point against the claim, but it stays as context and does not decide the status.

  Correlations of Static Balance and Star Excursion Balance Test With Selected Anthropometric Variables in Inter-University Archery Players Questionable venue · Ashwini Patil, Shyamal Koley

• 2020
  For Archers Published later

  12 young Malaysian recurve archers from state squads and a sports school, competing nationally, mean age 16: body mass index 26.24 ± 4.20, ranging from 20.92 to 34.45, with 22.2% fat and 72.6 kilos for 166 centimetres.

  Anthropometric And Physical Fitness Components Comparison between High- And Low-Performance Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Rosniwati Ghafar, Hairul Anuar Hashim, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli

• 2020
  For Archers Published later

  31 Korean elite archers measured by bioimpedance at the start of a study on the lower trapezius: body mass index 24.11 ± 3.46 and 24.43 ± 2.76 in the two groups, with 30.1 and 31.5 kilos of skeletal muscle mass and 16.7% and 16.3% fat. A high index with a lot of muscle.

  Effects of Lower Trapezius Strengthening Exercise on Shoulder Pain, Function and Archery Performance in Elite Archers · Eunkuk Kim, Jinho Kim, Jinyoung You

• 2023
  For Archers Published later

  10 student recurve archers in Jakarta, 6 men and 4 women aged about 21: body mass index 24.0 ± 5.3 in the men and 24.9 ± 6.7 in the women, with standard deviations so wide that the group contains both normal-weight and overweight archers.

  Analysis of heart rate and scores in student archery athletes · Nadya Dwi Oktafiranda, Sri Indah Ihsani, Kuswahyudi Kuswahyudi

• 2023
  Against Archers Published later

  33 high-level Indian archers, 22 international and 11 national, mean age 18.3 with 6 years of practice: body mass index 22.6 ± 2.9 in the men and 22.4 ± 3.3 in the women, body fat measured by skinfolds at 5.3% on average (4.2% in the men, 6.6% in the women). The index is well within the normal range; the fat values, especially the women's, are unusually low.

  Anthropometric Measures of Elite Indian Archer: Identification of Features for Talent Development · Jayashree Mazumder

• 2023
  Context Archers Published later

  13 Malaysian adolescent archers at state level, mean age 16 with nearly three years on the squad: 73.4 ± 15.4 kilos for 1.68 metres. Body mass index is not reported, and the sample comes from the same state programmes as other studies by the same group.

  The Effects of Ramadan Fasting on Mood and Performance of Male Adolescent Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Rosniwati Ghafar, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli, Hairul Anuar Hashim

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  33 Malaysian boys aged 13-18, 11 state-level archers, 11 badminton players and 11 non-athletes: the archers weigh 67.5 ± 18.7 kilos against 50.7 ± 16.2 for the non-athletes (post hoc p=0.039) and have more lean mass, 49.4 against 40.9 kilos (p=0.021), while body fat, 24.3% against 16.8%, does not differ significantly (p=0.077).

  Body composition, bone health status and isokinetic muscular performance among Malaysian young male badminton players, archers and non-athletes · Rou Xian Goh, Foong Kiew Ooi, Chee Keong Chen, Tong King Ming Irene, Mohd Rahimi Che Jusoh, Rosniwati Ghafar, Jiun Sien Lau

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  5 Indonesian para-archers, 3 men and 2 women aged about 31 with 7 years of competition: body mass index 26.6 ± 1.7 (25.9 in the men, 27.7 in the women), with body fat at 31.5% in the women and 20.9% in the men, with no significant differences. Five people, in a regional journal.

  Analisis Impedansi Bioelektrik (BIA) pada Atlet Para-Panahan Pria dan Wanita: Sebuah Studi Komparatif · Idya Putra Harjianto, Nur Subekti, Pungki Indarto

• 2025
  For Archers Published later

  20 young Malaysian archers against 20 sedentary peers, aged about 14.7, with no difference in height (163.2 against 159.0 centimetres, p=0.062) or age: the archers weigh 63.1 against 48.7 kilos (p=0.003), with a body mass index of 23.58 against 19.14 (p=0.003) and 26.7% fat against 20.5% (p=0.046).

  Comparison of Handgrip and Upper Body Strength between Sedentary Individuals and Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Muhammad Mustaqim Jariah, Rosniwati Ghafar, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli, Nur Syamsina Ahmad

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  37 Taiwanese pre-elite archers aged 15-24: recurve archers weigh 73.5 kilos against 65.8 for compound archers (p=0.036), while body mass index, 25.9 against 23.9, does not differ significantly (p=0.067).

  Associations of Scoring Accuracy with Postural Stability and Strength Measures in Archers on a Standard Archery Site · Chun-Hao Fan, Chien-Nan Liao, Wei-Hsiu Hsu

• 2026
  For Archers Published later

  51 elite archers from 22 countries, 28 women and 23 men, with a self-administered questionnaire: mean body mass index 24.56 ± 4.05, ranging from 18.37 to 32.69; 52.9% are normal weight, 45.1% overweight or above, 2.0% underweight. Weight and height are self-reported, not measured.

  Relationships between nutrition, training frequency, and anthropometric characteristics in elite archers · Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Amanda Mlinarić, Bojan Šarkanj, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Ivana Herak, Manuela Filipec

• 2026
  Against Archers Published later

  30 professional compound archers from the Cypriot federation, 21 men and 9 women, mean age 28 with 4-8 years of structured training: body mass index 22.98 ± 2.07, with 70.7 kilos for 1.75 metres. An entirely ordinary build.

  Associations between changes in postural control, shoulder proprioception, and shooting accuracy in professional compound archers · Sema Acaröz, Tuba Yerlikaya, Hüseyin Bilal Özkader, Yelda Kıngır Soykurt

• 2026
  Context Archers Published later

  25 Indian competitive women archers aged 15-17: body mass index 22.68 with a standard deviation of 4.02, 58.9 kilos for 162 centimetres. These are the baseline values of a yoga study without a control group, in a venue with doubtful editorial standards.

  Effects of yoga training on anthropometric and selected health-related fitness components in female archery players Questionable venue · Kamalpreet Kaur, Parmveer Singh

Status history

1. 2015 Not studied The first figure in the series concerns five Chinese boys of Xibo ethnicity, aged 15 to 17, with good results in national competitions: 63.9 kilograms for 174.7 centimetres and 11% body fat, a lean build within the normal range. They are five people, body mass index is not reported, the standard deviation for fat is not plausible and the proceedings appear in a venue with questionable editorial standards, which in this registry does not decide a status: the figure stays as context and the question has not yet been studied.
2. 2016 Reported The first sample that counts comes from twenty Korean high-school archers with about six and a half years of practice: body mass index of 24.2 and 25.0 in the two groups and body fat around 20%, not the profile of a lean athlete. In the same year a small comparison finds archers taking in more calories than they spend, unlike middle-distance runners, but it appears in a venue with doubtful editorial standards and decides nothing. One small sample, with means at the edge of the normal range: reported.
3. 2019 Reported An Indian comparison sets 93 national-level archers aged 16 to 25 beside 101 peers who do not shoot: the archers have an index of 22.8 in the men and 20.4 in the women, below the values of their peers, 24.3 and 21.2. It points the opposite way from the Korean high-school archers of 2016, but body fat is derived from the index itself and the study appears in a journal with questionable editorial standards, which in this registry does not decide a status. It stays as context, and with a single sample in favour the status stays reported.
4. 2020 Reported Two samples arrive pointing the same way. Twelve young Malaysian archers competing nationally have a mean index of 26.2, with values up to 34.5 and 22% fat. Thirty-one Korean elite archers, measured by bioimpedance, stand at 24.1 and 24.4, but with about thirty kilos of muscle mass and 16% fat: a high index that is largely muscle. Three samples in agreement, all small and descriptive, one in a regional journal: the status stays reported.
5. 2023 Contested In the same year two samples of archers point in opposite directions. Ten student archers in Jakarta stand at 24.0 for the men and 24.9 for the women, the same reading as in earlier years. Thirty-three Indian archers at national and international level, by contrast, have an index of 22.6 and 22.4, well within the normal range, with body fat estimated from skinfolds at an unusually low 5.3%. This is not a weak contrary study: it is measured, on high-level archers, in a venue with no reservations. Studies on archers pointing in opposite directions: contested.
6. 2024 Contested A Malaysian comparison sets eleven young archers beside eleven badminton players and eleven peers who do no sport: the archers weigh 67.5 kilos against 50.7 and carry more lean mass, 49.4 against 40.9 kilos; body fat is higher too, 24.3% against 16.8%, but that difference does not reach significance. Five Indonesian para-archers stand at an index of 26.6, but they are five people measured once. Nothing that changes the picture: the high index of many groups of archers is partly muscle, and the status stays contested.
7. 2025 Contested Twenty young Malaysian archers weigh 63 kilos against 49 for sedentary peers of similar height and age, with an index of 23.6 against 19.1 and 26.7% fat against 20.5%: here the extra weight is not just muscle. Among thirty-seven Taiwanese pre-elite archers, recurve archers weigh more than compound archers, with an index of 25.9 against 23.9 that does not reach significance. Another supporting sample, but the Indian contrary one still stands: contested.
8. 2026 Contested The largest international sample arrives, along with a second contrary one. Among 51 elite archers from 22 countries the mean index is 24.6, with values up to 32.7 and 45.1% overweight or above, but weight and height were reported by the archers. Thirty professional compound archers in Cyprus, measured, stand at 22.98, entirely within the normal range. Twenty-five young Indian women archers stand at 22.7, in a doubtful venue. The answer changes with country, discipline and level, and the index does not say how much of the weight is muscle: contested.

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