Ideal Weight Calculator

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Ideal Weight Calculator

Estimate an ideal body weight for your height and sex with the four formulas clinicians use, Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi, and compare them with the healthy weight range from a body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9.

Every figuretap a card to copy its value

Four formulas and the healthy BMI range

Ideal weight by height

Ideal weight by height

Formulas, for each inch over 5 feet: Devine, men 50 kg + 2.3 kg, women 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg; Robinson, men 52 kg + 1.9 kg, women 49 kg + 1.7 kg; Miller, men 56.2 kg + 1.41 kg, women 53.1 kg + 1.36 kg; Hamwi, men 106 lb + 6 lb, women 100 lb + 5 lb, with 10 percent taken off or added for a small or large frame. Below 5 feet the same rates are subtracted, which is less reliable. The healthy range is a body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9, the CDC’s healthy weight category for adults. These formulas were made to dose medicines, not to set personal goals, and ignore muscle, age and build; they do not apply to children or during pregnancy. The CSV, image and printed report contain the values you entered, nothing preloaded.

How to use this tool

Choose your sex and units, enter your height and pick a frame size. The range from the four formulas appears at the top, with each formula and the healthy BMI range beside it. Add your current weight to see your body mass index and how far you are from the formula average.

The bar chart puts the formulas against the healthy BMI range, and the line chart shows how each formula climbs with height. Tables for men and women are further down the page.

How ideal weight is worked out

Each formula starts from a weight at 5 feet and adds a fixed amount for every inch above it. Devine’s, from 1974, uses 50 kg for men and 45.5 kg for women plus 2.3 kg an inch. Robinson and Miller, both from 1983, refitted the numbers to insurance and survey data, and Hamwi’s older rule of thumb, 106 lb plus 6 lb an inch for men and 100 lb plus 5 for women, allows 10 percent either way for frame.

They were built for medicine, to estimate doses of drugs that depend on lean body mass, not to tell anyone what to weigh. That is why the calculator also shows the healthy weight range, a body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9, which the CDC uses for adults.

Ideal weights by the Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi formulas for a 5 ft 10 in man, 155 to 166 lb, and a 5 ft 4 in woman, 120 to 129 lb, against healthy BMI ranges of 129 to 174 lb and 108 to 145 lb, beside the four formulas written out
The formulas agree within about 10 lb, inside a healthy BMI range more than 40 lb wide.

Ideal weight for men by height

HeightDevineRobinsonMillerHamwiHealthy BMI
5 ft 2 in120123130118101 to 136
5 ft 3 in125127133124104 to 141
5 ft 4 in131131136130108 to 145
5 ft 5 in136136139136111 to 150
5 ft 6 in141140143142115 to 154
5 ft 7 in146144146148118 to 159
5 ft 8 in151148149154122 to 164
5 ft 9 in156152152160125 to 169
5 ft 10 in161157155166129 to 174
5 ft 11 in166161158172133 to 179
6 ft 0 in171165161178136 to 184
6 ft 1 in176169164184140 to 189
6 ft 2 in181173167190144 to 194
6 ft 3 in186177171196148 to 199
6 ft 4 in191182174202152 to 205

Ideal weight for women by height

HeightDevineRobinsonMillerHamwiHealthy BMI
4 ft 10 in901011119089 to 119
4 ft 11 in951041149592 to 123
5 ft 0 in10010811710095 to 127
5 ft 1 in10511212010598 to 132
5 ft 2 in110116123110101 to 136
5 ft 3 in116119126115104 to 141
5 ft 4 in121123129120108 to 145
5 ft 5 in126127132125111 to 150
5 ft 6 in131131135130115 to 154
5 ft 7 in136134138135118 to 159
5 ft 8 in141138141140122 to 164
5 ft 9 in146142144145125 to 169
5 ft 10 in151146147150129 to 174
5 ft 11 in156149150155133 to 179
6 ft 0 in161153153160136 to 184

Pounds, medium frame. Healthy BMI is 18.5 to 24.9.

A worked example you can check on paper

A man is 5 ft 10 in, 70 inches, which is 10 inches over 5 feet. Devine gives 50 plus 2.3 times 10, 73 kg or 161 lb. Robinson gives 52 plus 1.9 times 10, 71 kg or 157 lb; Miller 56.2 plus 1.41 times 10, 70.3 kg or 155 lb; and Hamwi 106 plus 6 times 10, 166 lb. The average is about 160 lb.

His healthy BMI range is 18.5 to 24.9 times his height in meters squared, 1.778 squared or 3.16: 58.5 to 78.7 kg, 129 to 174 lb. At 200 lb his BMI would be 28.7, in the overweight range.

Mistakes that catch people out

Treating one number as the goal. The formulas disagree by 10 lb or more, and the healthy range is far wider than any of them.

Ignoring muscle. Athletes and people who lift weights often sit well above every formula while being lean and healthy.

Using it for children or in pregnancy. The formulas are for adults; children need growth charts, and pregnancy weight gain has its own guidance.

Measuring height in shoes. An inch of heel adds about 2 kg, or 5 to 6 lb, to most formulas.

Popular calculations

Each opens the calculator with its own address, and every value can be changed once it is open.

Men

Man 5 ft 4 in, 130 to 136 lbMan 5 ft 5 in, 136 to 139 lbMan 5 ft 6 in, 140 to 143 lbMan 5 ft 7 in, 144 to 148 lbMan 5 ft 8 in, 148 to 154 lbMan 5 ft 9 in, 152 to 160 lbMan 5 ft 10 in, 155 to 166 lbMan 5 ft 11 in, 158 to 172 lbMan 6 ft 0 in, 161 to 178 lbMan 6 ft 1 in, 164 to 184 lbMan 6 ft 2 in, 167 to 190 lbMan 6 ft 3 in, 171 to 196 lbMan 6 ft 4 in, 174 to 202 lb

Women

Woman 4 ft 10 in, 90 to 111 lbWoman 4 ft 11 in, 95 to 114 lbWoman 5 ft 0 in, 100 to 117 lbWoman 5 ft 1 in, 105 to 120 lbWoman 5 ft 2 in, 110 to 123 lbWoman 5 ft 3 in, 115 to 126 lbWoman 5 ft 4 in, 120 to 129 lbWoman 5 ft 5 in, 125 to 132 lbWoman 5 ft 6 in, 130 to 135 lbWoman 5 ft 7 in, 134 to 138 lbWoman 5 ft 8 in, 138 to 141 lbWoman 5 ft 9 in, 142 to 146 lbWoman 5 ft 10 in, 146 to 151 lbWoman 5 ft 11 in, 149 to 156 lbWoman 6 ft 0 in, 153 to 161 lb

Metric

Man 170 cm, 65.2 to 66.9 kgMan 175 cm, 68.7 to 72.3 kgMan 180 cm, 71.5 to 77.7 kgMan 185 cm, 74.3 to 83 kgWoman 155 cm, 47.7 to 54.5 kgWoman 160 cm, 52.1 to 57.2 kgWoman 165 cm, 56.6 to 59.8 kgWoman 170 cm, 60.8 to 62.5 kg

Frame size

Man 5 ft 10 in, large frame, 155 to 183 lbMan 5 ft 10 in, small frame, 149 to 161 lbWoman 5 ft 5 in, small frame, 113 to 132 lbWoman 5 ft 5 in, large frame, 126 to 138 lb

How this was checked

The engine was tested in Node against hand calculations of all four formulas at several heights for men and women, and the healthy ranges were checked against the BMI of 18.5 and 24.9 at each height: 5 ft 10 in gives 129 to 174 lb, matching published BMI tables.

Every address in the lists above was then opened and checked for a distinct title, the right answer, charts that render, and clean CSV, image and print output containing only that calculation, at desktop, tablet and phone widths.

Common questions

What is the ideal weight for my height?

There is no single answer, which is why the calculator shows four formulas and the healthy BMI range. For a 5 ft 10 in man the formulas give 155 to 166 lb and the healthy BMI range is 129 to 174 lb; for a 5 ft 4 in woman, 120 to 129 lb and 108 to 145 lb.

What is the Devine formula?

Devine’s 1974 formula sets ideal body weight at 50 kg for men and 45.5 kg for women at 5 feet, plus 2.3 kg for each inch above that. It was designed to dose medicines and is still the one most used in hospitals.

Which ideal weight formula is most accurate?

None is accurate for an individual, because they know only height and sex. Studies comparing them with actual healthy weights find each fits some heights better than others; the average of several, read alongside the BMI range, is a sensible reference.

What is a healthy weight range for my height?

The CDC’s healthy weight category is a body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9. The calculator turns that into weights for your height; at 5 ft 8 in it is about 122 to 164 lb.

Does frame size matter?

A little. Hamwi’s method takes off 10 percent for a small frame and adds 10 percent for a large one, which moves the answer by about 12 to 17 lb for average heights. Wrist or elbow width is the usual way to judge frame.

Is ideal weight the same as healthy weight?

No. Healthy weight covers a wide range, and waist size, fitness, blood pressure and blood sugar matter more than hitting a formula number. Muscular people often weigh more than any formula yet are healthy.

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