How to find a healthy weight range by hand
- Square your height in meters. 1.70 m × 1.70 m = 2.89.
- Multiply by 18.5. 18.5 × 2.89 = 53.5 kg: the bottom of the healthy range.
- Multiply by 24.9. 24.9 × 2.89 = 72.0 kg: the top of the range. The middle, at a BMI of 22, is 22 × 2.89 = 63.6 kg.
- In pounds and inches. Multiply 18.5 and 24.9 by your height in inches squared and divide by 703. At 67 inches: 18.5 × 4,489 ÷ 703 = 118 lb and 24.9 × 4,489 ÷ 703 = 159 lb.
How the ideal weight calculator works
- Your healthy range. The weights that give a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 at your height: the WHO’s healthy-weight category, the range used by the NIH guidelines, the BMI calculator and the Calorix app.
- The middle of the range. The weight at a BMI of 22, for reference.
- The classic formulas. Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi, shown for comparison and clearly labelled. They depend on sex and start at 5 ft (152 cm); for “other”, the calculator averages the female and male versions.
Healthy weight chart by height
The weights for a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9, rounded to the nearest pound and kilogram. They’re the same for women and men.
| Height | Healthy weight (lb) | Healthy weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 0 in (152 cm) | 95–127 lb | 43–58 kg |
| 5 ft 2 in (157 cm) | 101–136 lb | 46–62 kg |
| 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) | 108–145 lb | 49–66 kg |
| 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | 115–154 lb | 52–70 kg |
| 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | 122–164 lb | 55–74 kg |
| 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | 129–174 lb | 58–79 kg |
| 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | 136–184 lb | 62–83 kg |
| 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | 144–194 lb | 65–88 kg |
| 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | 152–205 lb | 69–93 kg |
For many Asian populations, health risks rise at lower BMIs, so some guidelines draw the top of the healthy range lower: 23 in Korea and in the WHO’s cut-offs for Asian populations, 24 in Taiwan. Japan keeps the healthy range below 25 but defines obesity from a BMI of 25 rather than 30. The BMI calculator can show those categories.
The classic “ideal body weight” formulas
These four equations give one number from your height and sex:
| Formula | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Devine (1974) | 50 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 ft | 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 ft |
| Robinson (1983) | 52 kg + 1.9 kg per inch | 49 kg + 1.7 kg per inch |
| Miller (1983) | 56.2 kg + 1.41 kg per inch | 53.1 kg + 1.36 kg per inch |
| Hamwi (1964) | 48 kg + 2.7 kg per inch | 45.5 kg + 2.2 kg per inch |
At 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) they give:
| Formula | Woman | Man |
|---|---|---|
| Devine | 61.4 kg | 65.9 kg |
| Robinson | 60.8 kg | 65.2 kg |
| Miller | 62.5 kg | 66.0 kg |
| Hamwi | 60.7 kg | 66.7 kg |
| Healthy BMI range (both) | 53.5–72.0 kg | 53.5–72.0 kg |
All of them land inside the healthy range at this height, but they shouldn’t be read as goals. Pai and Paloucek traced their origins to drug dosing: Devine’s equation was proposed for calculating medication doses, and the Robinson and Miller revisions were also written for dosing. None was built to define a healthy weight for a person. A 2016 analysis showed that these equations don’t line up with BMI at the short and tall ends of the height range, and that a range of healthy weights fits the evidence better than a single number.
A healthy weight is a range
Anywhere in the healthy BMI range is linked to the lowest health risks for most adults. Where you sit in it depends on your frame, your muscle and your age, so it makes more sense to choose a weight you can keep with habits you like than to chase the number from one formula. BMI also has limits: it can’t tell muscle from fat, and at the same BMI women tend to carry more body fat than men. A waist measurement adds useful context; the waist-to-height ratio calculator shows how.
Not for children, teens or pregnancy
These ranges are for adults. Children and teens are compared with children of the same age and sex on growth charts (the BMI calculator does this for ages 2 to 19), and weight during pregnancy is judged differently: ask your midwife or doctor.
Planning a change
If you’d like to move toward a weight in your range, the weight loss calculator gives the daily calories to get there by a date, with a safe pace. Calorix tracks your weigh-ins as a smoothed trend, and Toasty never comments on your body: it cheers on the habits.
