Ideal Weight Calculator

Broca's formula, from 1871, is the oldest in the calculator: ideal weight (kg) = height (cm) − 100, for men and women alike. Later formulas were fitted to height and weight data instead.

They were published in the United States between 1964 and 1983 and work in units per inch over 5 feet: kilograms for Devine, Robinson and Miller, pounds for Hamwi. The calculator converts cm to inches (and pounds to kg) for you.

The CDC calls BMI 18.5 to under 25 a healthy weight, with under 18.5 underweight, 25 to under 30 overweight, and 30 or more obesity; WHO uses the same 25 and 30 cut-offs. Multiplying by height in metres squared turns that into a weight range. For example, a 175 cm person's healthy range is about 57 to 76 kg.

Because they don't account for muscle. The formulas use only height and sex, so a muscular adult can land well above every one of them. Body fat percentage tells you more in that case; the Body Fat Calculator can help.

They drift at the ends. The 2006 comparison found the formulas sit near a BMI of 20 for shorter people and near 25 for taller people, and a 2020 letter found Devine differs from the others by up to 14% in men and 19% in women. The BMI-based range is a useful cross-check.

The formulas don't, but BMI risk does. A 2004 WHO expert consultation found that many Asian populations have higher diabetes and heart risk below the standard BMI 25 cut-off, and suggested extra public-health action points at 23 and 27.5, while keeping the standard cut-offs for international use. The BMI Calculator's Customize mode applies Asian cut-offs.