Ideal Weight Calculator
Find your ideal weight range using four established medical formulas.
Precision Fitness Calculators
Find your ideal weight range using four established medical formulas.
Scientific Reference
This calculator compares four widely-used ideal body weight formulas. All use height as the primary input and calculate weight based on inches above 5 feet (60 inches).
The Formulas (Men / Women)
- Devine (1974): 50 + 2.3 × (inches over 60) / 45.5 + 2.3 × (inches over 60)
- Robinson (1983): 52 + 1.9 × (inches over 60) / 49 + 1.7 × (inches over 60)
- Miller (1983): 56.2 + 1.41 × (inches over 60) / 53.1 + 1.36 × (inches over 60)
- Hamwi (1964): 48 + 2.7 × (inches over 60) / 45.5 + 2.2 × (inches over 60)
All results are in kilograms. These formulas were originally designed for medication dosing and provide general guidelines. Individual ideal weight depends on body composition, frame size, and overall health.
Where these formulas come from
The four equations this calculator compares — Devine (1974), Robinson (1983), Miller (1983) and Hamwi (1964) — were never designed as aesthetic targets. Devine's formula was published for calculating drug dosages, and the others refined it against population data. Each starts from a base weight at 5 feet (60 inches) of height and adds a per-inch increment, with separate coefficients for men and women.
Because the coefficients differ, the four results always disagree by a few kilograms — which is exactly why this calculator shows all four as a range rather than crowning one number. Anywhere inside that band, and more broadly anywhere in the healthy BMI span for your height, is a defensible target.
How to actually use an ideal weight number
Treat the range as a direction, not a destination. Two people at the same "ideal" weight can look and perform completely differently depending on how much of it is muscle — a target weight says nothing about composition, which is what health outcomes actually track. A better goal sentence is: reach the ideal range while keeping or adding muscle.
Frame size and heritage also matter. The formulas were built on Western population data; South Asians carry higher body fat at the same weight and height, so the lower half of the range is often the healthier aim. Pair this tool with the Body Fat calculator and a waist-to-hip measurement before committing to a target, and use the TDEE calculator to plan the calorie path there. If you are more than 15 kg from the range, set staged targets of 5 kg — each stage measurably improves blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and joint load, and staged wins sustain motivation far better than one distant number.
It is also worth deciding in advance what you will do when you arrive. The period immediately after reaching a target weight is where most regain happens, because the deficit ends without anything structured replacing it. Plan a maintenance phase: recalculate TDEE at your new weight, eat at that number for at least as long as the deficit lasted, and keep the resistance training that protected your muscle on the way down. Holding a new weight for three months is a genuine achievement in its own right, and it is what turns a successful diet into a permanent change rather than a cycle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do the four formulas give different answers?
Each was derived on different population data with different per-inch coefficients. The spread between them — usually 3–6 kg — is honest uncertainty, which is why a range is a better target than any single formula's output.
Is ideal weight the same as healthiest weight?
Not necessarily. The formulas ignore body composition, frame size and ethnicity. A weight at which you carry adequate muscle and a healthy waist measurement beats a lighter weight achieved by losing muscle.
Does age change my ideal weight?
The classic formulas use only height and sex. In practice, preserving muscle matters more with age — for adults over 50, the priority shifts from reaching a lower scale weight to maintaining strength and function at a stable weight.
What if I am far above the ideal range?
Break the distance into 5 kg stages using a 15–20% calorie deficit from your TDEE. Each stage delivers measurable health improvement, and staged targets are psychologically sustainable where a single distant number is not.