Ideal Weight Calculator
Find your ideal body weight based on height and gender, using trusted medical formulas.
Ideal Weight Calculator
Calculate your ideal weight instantly.
What This Ideal Weight Calculator Does
This tool calculates estimated ideal body weight using several different established formulas, including the Devine, Robinson, and Hamwi formulas, each developed independently by different researchers and used in various clinical contexts. Presenting all of them together gives a reasonable range rather than a single potentially misleading exact figure.
How to Use the Ideal Weight Calculator
Enter your height, using either centimeters or feet and inches depending on your preference. Select your gender, since these formulas use different base calculations for men and women. Your estimated ideal weight range, calculated across multiple formulas, appears instantly once calculated.
Why Multiple Formulas Are Used Instead of Just One
Each ideal weight formula was developed at a different time, sometimes decades apart, using different underlying population data and clinical assumptions, which means they can produce meaningfully different results for the exact same height and gender input. Showing several formulas together, rather than presenting just one as definitively correct, gives a more honest, realistic range rather than false precision from a single calculation.
Men: 50 + 2.3 × (height in inches over 5 feet)
Women: 45.5 + 2.3 × (height in inches over 5 feet)
Hamwi Formula (1964)
Men: 48 + 2.7 × (height in inches over 5 feet)
Women: 45.5 + 2.2 × (height in inches over 5 feet)
Robinson Formula (1983)
Men: 52 + 1.9 × (height in inches over 5 feet)
Women: 49 + 1.7 × (height in inches over 5 feet)
Pro Tip: Formulas like Devine and Hamwi were originally developed primarily for calculating appropriate medication dosages based on body weight, not specifically as general wellness or fitness targets.
The Original Clinical Purpose of These Formulas
Formulas like Devine and Hamwi were originally developed primarily for calculating appropriate medication dosages based on body weight, not specifically as general wellness or fitness targets. Understanding this original clinical context helps explain why these formulas sometimes produce a narrower or different-feeling range than more modern, fitness-oriented weight guidance might suggest.
Why Ideal Weight Should Be Treated as a Reference, Not a Rigid Target
Body frame size, muscle mass, and individual body composition all meaningfully affect what a genuinely healthy weight looks like for any specific person, meaning these formula-based estimates work best as a general reference point rather than a strict target to chase regardless of individual body type. Combining this estimate with a BMI check and, ideally, a conversation with a healthcare provider gives a more complete picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Different established formulas, like Devine, Robinson, and Hamwi, were developed independently using different data, so showing several together provides a more honest range rather than false precision from a single figure.
No, many of them, including Devine and Hamwi, were originally developed primarily for calculating appropriate medication dosages based on body weight in clinical settings, not specifically as fitness targets.
No, these formulas are based purely on height and gender, so a muscular individual or someone with a larger body frame may naturally fall outside the calculated range while still being perfectly healthy.
It is better used as a general reference point rather than a rigid target, since individual factors like muscle mass and frame size significantly affect what a healthy weight actually looks like for any specific person.