Ideal Weight Calculator

How to use the ideal weight calculator

1. Choose Imperial (ft/in, results in lb) or Metric (cm, results in kg). Imperial is selected by default.
2. Select your sex. The formulas differ for women and men; the BMI range does not.
3. Enter your height without shoes: feet in the first box, inches in the second (0 if none), or centimeters in metric mode.
4. Read the healthy weight range first, then the four formula results and their average. The table repeats the four formulas side by side.

How the calculator works

Healthy weight range (BMI)

Weight = BMI × height (m)². The World Health Organization classes an adult BMI below 18.5 as underweight and 25 or more as overweight, so the range in between is used here, with 24.9 as the upper limit.

Ideal body weight formulas

Each formula starts from a base weight at 5 feet and adds a fixed amount for every inch above it (results in kg, then converted to lb in imperial mode with 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg):

Below 5 feet the formulas are extrapolated: the calculator subtracts the same amount for every inch below 5 feet.

Where the formulas come from

According to a 2000 review by Pai and Paloucek, Devine wrote his equations to estimate creatinine clearance, as a guide to dosing the antibiotic gentamicin, and they were not referenced to a particular data set. Robinson's team fitted median weights from the 1959 Metropolitan Life height-weight tables, and Miller's team used the 1983 tables. The equations look alike because those tables broadly agree. In medicine, ideal body weight was later used as a stand-in for lean body weight, not as a personal weight goal.

Ideal weight examples

Woman, 5 ft 4 in

Healthy weight range: 107.8 to 145.1 lb. Devine gives 120.6 lb, Robinson 123.0 lb, Miller 129.1 lb and Hamwi 119.7 lb, for an average of 123.1 lb.

Man, 5 ft 10 in

Healthy weight range: 128.9 to 173.5 lb. Devine 160.9 lb, Robinson 156.5 lb, Miller 155.0 lb, Hamwi 165.3 lb; average 159.4 lb.

Woman, 4 ft 11 in

Healthy range: 91.6 to 123.3 lb. Here the extrapolated formulas spread widely, from 95.2 lb (Devine) to 114.1 lb (Miller). At short heights, the BMI range is the more useful reference.

Why there is no single ideal weight

All of these numbers come from height and sex alone. As the CDC notes, BMI does not distinguish between fat, muscle and bone, and the same applies to these formulas. Keep these limits in mind:

• Athletes and muscular people can weigh more than every formula suggests and still be lean.
• Older adults are not covered by age-specific values; the formulas ignore age, muscle loss and height loss. Ask your doctor what weight is right for you.
• Children and teens should not use this calculator: their weight is judged with age- and sex-specific growth charts by a pediatrician.
• Pregnancy: these numbers do not apply. Your prenatal care provider will guide weight gain.
• Eating disorders: if you have, or have had, an eating disorder, please don't use a formula as a target. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian instead.

Waist size, blood pressure, blood sugar, fitness and how you feel tell you more than a formula weight.