Ideal Weight Calculator: Healthy Weight Range for Your Height
Shows how far you are from the range
- Healthy range (BMI 18.5 to 22.9)
- Classic formulas
Classic ideal weight formulas
Single-number estimates from height and sex, first written for drug dosing. Shown for reference.
- Devine (1974)65.9 kg
- Robinson (1983)65.2 kg
- Miller (1983)66.0 kg
- Hamwi (1964)Outside the Asian BMI range66.9 kg
The range uses the Health Promotion Board's low-risk BMI band for Asian adults, 18.5 to 22.9. It does not tell muscle from fat; your waist (under 90 cm for men, 80 cm for women) matters too. Not for under-18s or pregnancy.
Healthy weight for your height
53.5 to 66.2 kg
- Middle of the range (BMI 20.7)
- 59.8 kg
- Devine formula
- 65.9 kg
- WHO range (BMI 18.5 to 24.9)
- 53.5 to 72.0 kg
How this works
The healthy range is the weight that gives a BMI of 18.5 to 22.9 at your height, the low-risk band the Health Promotion Board uses for Asian adults. Weight = BMI × height in metres squared, so at 1.70 m the range is 18.5 × 2.89 = 53.5 kg to 22.9 × 2.89 = 66.2 kg. Above 22.9 the risk of diabetes and heart disease starts to rise for Asians, earlier than the WHO international cut-off of 25.
The classic "ideal body weight" formulas were written for drug dosing, not for setting a goal, and give one number from height and sex, counting from 5 feet (152.4 cm): Devine (1974), men 50 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 feet, women 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg; Robinson (1983), men 52 kg + 1.9 kg, women 49 kg + 1.7 kg; Miller (1983), men 56.2 kg + 1.41 kg, women 53.1 kg + 1.36 kg; Hamwi (1964), men 106 lb + 6 lb per inch, women 100 lb + 5 lb per inch.
Height is the only input, so none of these numbers knows about muscle, frame or age. The formulas are not meant for people under 5 feet or under 18. For a goal, the BMI range plus your waist size (under 90 cm for men, 80 cm for women) is the more useful guide.
FAQs
What is the ideal weight for 160 cm?
About 47.4 kg to 58.6 kg, the weight that gives a BMI of 18.5 to 22.9 at 1.60 m. The Devine formula gives 52.4 kg for a woman of 160 cm and 56.9 kg for a man.
What is the ideal weight for 170 cm?
About 53.5 kg to 66.2 kg on Singapore's Asian BMI range. The Devine formula gives 65.9 kg for a man of 170 cm and 61.4 kg for a woman.
What is the ideal weight for 175 cm?
About 56.7 kg to 70.1 kg on the Asian BMI range of 18.5 to 22.9. The Devine formula gives 70.5 kg for a man of 175 cm and 66.0 kg for a woman.
Which ideal weight formula is most accurate?
None is accurate for an individual. Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi use height alone and land within about 2 to 9 kg of each other between 155 cm and 185 cm; a 2000 review concluded any of them can be used for drug dosing. For a health target, use the BMI range for your height.