Is there really an ideal weight for your height?
Not a single one. What exists are formulas: equations fitted to population data that give a typical weight for a given height and sex, plus the broad healthy range implied by BMI. The four formulas on this page were published between the 1960s and 1980s, mostly to help clinicians dose medicines and set quick reference weights. They remain useful as reference points, but none of them knows your frame, your muscle mass, your age, your health history or how you feel and function at a given weight.
That is why this page shows all four results side by side, together with the healthy BMI range for your height. When the formulas agree within a few kilograms, that zone is a reasonable population reference. When they spread out, the honest answer is a range, not a point. Treat every number here as context for a conversation about health, never as a personal target you must hit. These are population formulas, not personal targets, and this page is for information only and is not medical advice.
The four formulas
Devine: men 50 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 60 in; women 45.5 + 2.3. Robinson: men 52 + 1.9; women 49 + 1.7. Miller: men 56.2 + 1.41; women 53.1 + 1.36. Hamwi: men 48 + 2.7; women 45.5 + 2.2. For heights under 5 ft the same increments are subtracted. This page converts centimetres to inches exactly (inches = cm ÷ 2.54) before applying them.
How the formulas differ
Hamwi rises fastest with height, so it gives the highest values for tall people. Miller rises slowest and starts highest, so it gives relatively high values for shorter people and lower values for tall people. Devine is the most widely quoted in medicine, largely because drug dosing references adopted it. None was built from modern, diverse population data, which is another reason to hold the results lightly and to compare them with the BMI range, your waist measurement, your fitness and your clinician's view.
Worked example
A man who is 175 cm tall is 68.90 inches tall, or 8.90 inches over 5 ft. Devine: 50 + 2.3 × 8.90 = 70.5 kg. Robinson: 52 + 1.9 × 8.90 = 68.9 kg. Miller: 56.2 + 1.41 × 8.90 = 68.7 kg. Hamwi: 48 + 2.7 × 8.90 = 72.0 kg. The healthy BMI range at 175 cm is about 56.7 to 76.3 kg, so all four sit comfortably inside it.
How to use this calculator
- Choose metric or imperial units and select your sex.
- Enter your height.
- Compare the four formula results in the breakdown table.
- Check where those results fall inside the healthy BMI range for your height.
- Use the range as context, not as a single target weight.
What ideal weight formulas leave out
Frame size was part of the original thinking behind several of these formulas, with rough adjustments of about 10 percent for a large or small frame, yet frame is hard to measure consistently and modern use usually skips it. Muscle is a bigger factor: a strength athlete and a sedentary person of the same height can differ by many kilograms of lean tissue at the same body fat level. Age matters too, because muscle tends to fall and fat distribution changes across adulthood.
A healthier approach is to watch a small set of signals together: weight trend, waist size, strength and stamina, sleep, blood pressure and routine blood markers discussed with your clinician. If those are moving in the right direction, the exact kilogram a 1970s formula prefers is not important. If you are concerned about your weight in either direction, seek personal advice from a qualified professional. Information only, not medical advice.
Important note
For information only — not medical advice. This calculator uses standard published formulas to estimate values for general education and planning. It does not diagnose, treat, or replace the advice of a doctor or other qualified health professional. If you have a health concern, are pregnant, or are making decisions about treatment, medication, or a major diet or exercise change, please talk to a healthcare professional first.