Calculators

Ideal Weight Calculator

A healthy weight range for your height, alongside the Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi formulas.

How it works

The four formulas all start from a base weight at 5 feet and add a fixed amount for every inch above it; they differ only in the numbers. They were devised to dose medicines, not to set goals. The healthy range comes from BMI instead: every weight that gives a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 at your height, or 18.5 to 22.9 on the Asian cut-offs used in India.

Devine: 50 kg (men) or 45.5 kg (women) + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 ft
Robinson
52 kg (men), 49 kg (women) + 1.9 / 1.7 kg per inch
Miller
56.2 kg (men), 53.1 kg (women) + 1.41 / 1.36 kg per inch
Hamwi
48 kg (men), 45.5 kg (women) + 2.7 / 2.2 kg per inch
BMI range
18.5 × height² to 24.9 × height², height in metres

Worked example

A woman 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) tall.

  1. 1Height in metres squared: 1.65² = 2.7225
  2. 2BMI range: 18.5 × 2.7225 = 50.4 kg to 24.9 × 2.7225 = 67.8 kg
  3. 3Asian cut-off: up to 22.9 × 2.7225 = 62.3 kg
  4. 4Devine: 45.5 + 2.3 × 4.96 inches = 56.9 kg

A healthy range of 50.4–67.8 kg (50.4–62.3 kg on Asian cut-offs), with the formulas between 56.4 and 59.8 kg.

Frequently asked questions

Which ideal weight formula should I trust?

None of them exactly. They disagree by several kilos and were never meant as personal targets. The BMI range is wider and better supported by health data, so treat anywhere in it as healthy and the formulas as a rough midpoint.

Why is the range lower for Asian adults?

At the same BMI, South Asian people tend to carry more body fat and face higher risk of diabetes and heart disease. WHO and India's health ministry therefore class a BMI of 23 or more as overweight for Asian adults, rather than 25.

Does frame size matter?

Somewhat. People with a large frame are often healthy near the top of the range and small-framed people near the bottom. Wrist circumference is a common rough check of frame size.

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