Ideal Body Weight Calculator
Enter your height, sex and (optionally) current weight. You get your ideal weight by the Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi formulas, the healthy weight range for your height (BMI 18.5–24.9), and the difference from where you are now.
| Formula | Ideal weight | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Devine (1974) | — | Most common; drug dosing |
| Robinson (1983) | — | Slightly lower for tall people |
| Miller (1983) | — | Slightly higher for short people |
| Hamwi (1964) | — | Quick clinical estimate |
Robinson: men 52 kg + 1.9 kg/in; women 49 kg + 1.7 kg/in.
Miller: men 56.2 kg + 1.41 kg/in; women 53.1 kg + 1.36 kg/in.
Hamwi: men 48 kg + 2.7 kg/in; women 45.5 kg + 2.2 kg/in.
Healthy range: the weights that give a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 for your height.
Adjusted body weight (shown when you are more than 20% above ideal): IBW + 0.4 × (actual − IBW). Some medicines are dosed on this number.
What "ideal body weight" means, and what it doesn't
These formulas were built in the 1960s and 1970s to standardize medication doses, not to set a goal for you. They use height and sex only, so they ignore muscle, frame size, age and ethnicity. A muscular person can be "over" their ideal weight and perfectly healthy; an older adult can be at the number and still carry too little muscle.
A more useful target is the healthy weight range shown above, and for people with diabetes, prediabetes or fatty liver, even a 5–10% weight loss from today's weight improves blood sugar, liver fat and blood pressure, long before the "ideal" number is reached.
Related: BMI calculator · Weight & metabolism guide · GLP-1 medications guide · Keeping muscle while losing weight
Want help reaching a healthy weight? See an endocrinologist.
Medical weight management, GLP-1 therapy and metabolic care, at Endocrine & Diabetes Plus in Sugar Land and Memorial City. New patients are usually seen within 2 weeks; the earliest openings are with Dr. Chhavi Chadha. Telehealth follow-ups for patients anywhere in Texas.