Ideal Weight Calculator

The tool displays three height-based historical equations: Devine, Miller and Hamwi. The separate BMI example below is an explanatory comparison, not another output from the form. Differences between methods show why one exact target is not a universal healthy weight.

At 1.75 m, adult BMI thresholds 18.5 and 25 correspond to 56.66 kg and 76.56 kg. The upper boundary is exclusive for the CDC healthy-weight BMI category.

Use the range as background for a discussion, not as a weight-loss goal chosen automatically. Body composition, age and health matter.

Height-based formulas do not determine individual wellbeing and are not appropriate for pediatric or pregnancy targets.

This calculator displays three historical height-based estimates: Devine, Miller and Hamwi. They use different constants, so the results can differ even when the same height and male or female equation are selected. None of those figures is a personalized verdict about health. The page is most useful for understanding what these formulas produce, not for deciding that your current weight must be changed until it matches one of them.

The form asks for height rather than current weight, age, activity or medical history. In imperial mode, enter feet and remaining inches separately. In metric mode, use centimeters. A height of five feet ten inches is entered as 5 and 10, or 177.8 centimeters after conversion. Selecting the equation changes its coefficients; it does not perform a biological assessment. Do not assume that additional individual information has been considered simply because the result is expressed in pounds and kilograms.

At five feet ten inches, the male equation has ten inches above the five-foot reference. Devine gives 50 plus 2.3 times 10, or 73 kilograms. Miller gives 56.2 plus 1.41 times 10, or 70.3 kilograms. Hamwi gives 48 plus 2.7 times 10, or 75 kilograms. The spread reflects different formulas, not three independent examinations that have established a medically appropriate range for the person using the form.

At five feet or below, this implementation sets additional inches above five feet to zero. That means shorter entered heights can produce the same base figures rather than a continuously decreasing estimate. This is an important limitation, not evidence that people of different short heights should weigh the same amount. The calculator's acceptance of a height should not be mistaken for validation of the method at that height. Check the equation's assumptions before giving an output practical significance.

The worked BMI comparison above uses height squared to translate adult category boundaries into weights. It is an explanatory comparison, not a fourth formula result produced by this form. At 1.75 meters, the boundaries correspond to approximately 56.66 kilograms at BMI 18.5 and 76.56 kilograms at BMI 25. The upper boundary is excluded from the CDC healthy-weight category. This range can be wider than the spread of the three historical equations.

A BMI-derived interval is still not an individualized goal. CDC adult categories apply from age 20, and they are not the appropriate categories for children or teenagers through age 19. Pregnancy and individual body composition also require different context. Presenting the BMI arithmetic beside the other equations helps explain why methods disagree; it does not establish that one method is always right or that choosing the midpoint creates a suitable target.

If you are reviewing these figures for a health discussion, bring the inputs and the formula names rather than only a single weight. A clinician can consider relevant information that the form never asks about. Muscle mass, symptoms and health history cannot be inferred from height alone. The word ideal in the calculator's name is a familiar label for these equations, not a recommendation to gain or lose weight until a displayed value is reached.

Do not use the figures to set medication doses, pediatric growth targets or pregnancy weight goals. Such decisions can depend on clinical methods and circumstances beyond this page. Nor does the calculator show that a weight outside the formula spread is unhealthy. If a result seems inconsistent with your situation, that is a reason to question the method's suitability rather than to force your circumstances to match the number. The useful lesson is the formulas' limits as well as their arithmetic.