Ideal Weight Calculator

How It Works

“Ideal weight” formulas estimate a healthy weight from height alone. They grew out of life-insurance tables and hospital dosing practice. Four are still widely used — Devine, Hamwi, Robinson and Miller — each starting from a base weight at 5 feet and adding a fixed amount per inch above it.

For men, Devine gives 50 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 ft; Hamwi 48 kg + 2.7 kg; Robinson 52 kg + 1.9 kg; Miller 56.2 kg + 1.41 kg. For women the bases are 45.5, 45.5, 49 and 53.1 kg, with 2.3, 2.2, 1.7 and 1.36 kg per inch. No single formula is definitive, so this calculator shows all four and the range across them.

Worked Example

A man who is 5 ft 10 in: Devine 50 + 2.3 × 10 = 73.0 kg; Hamwi 48 + 2.7 × 10 = 75.0 kg; Robinson 52 + 1.9 × 10 = 71.0 kg; Miller 56.2 + 1.41 × 10 = 70.3 kg — a range of 70.3–75.0 kg (155–165 lb). A 5 ft 5 in woman gets 57.0, 56.5, 57.5 and 59.9 kg — a range of 56.5–59.9 kg (125–132 lb).

How to Use This Calculator

Choose your sex and enter your height. The headline result is the range across all four formulas; the breakdown shows each figure in kilograms and pounds.

Tips and Practical Advice

Treat the range as a rough guide, not a sharp-edged target: the formulas disagree by several kilograms at most heights, which shows how approximate they are. Build matters — a broad-framed or muscular person can be healthy above the range, a small-framed person below it. Use it alongside BMI and body fat percentage.

Sources: Devine (1974), Hamwi, Robinson (1983) and Miller (1983) ideal body weight formulas. Reviewed Nov 13, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions