How Much Should I Weigh for My Height? The Answer

How much should I weigh for my height? It sounds like it should have one clean answer, but it doesn't — there is a healthy range, and that range shifts depending on which formula you use, your body composition, sex, and age. This guide walks through the three main methods health professionals use, where they agree, where they diverge, and what to actually do with the numbers.

Why healthy weight is a range, not a single number

Two people who are both 5'9" and weigh 160 pounds can have very different levels of health. One might carry most of that as lean muscle with 15% body fat; the other might have 35% body fat and underlying metabolic issues. The scale alone cannot tell them apart.

This is why every reputable weight-for-height formula gives you a range — often spanning 30–40 pounds. Within that range, where you fall depends on your frame size, muscle mass, age, and sex. The range is a starting point for a conversation, not a judgment call.

Method 1: BMI — the most widely used standard

Body Mass Index (BMI) is the formula most doctors and health organizations use because it requires only height and weight and correlates reasonably well with population-level health risk. The formula is:

• BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)²
• In imperial: BMI = (weight in lbs × 703) ÷ height in inches²

The standard weight categories from the World Health Organization:

• Underweight: BMI below 18.5
• Normal weight: BMI 18.5–24.9
• Overweight: BMI 25–29.9
• Obese: BMI 30 or above

Here is what the “normal” BMI range translates to in actual pounds for common heights:

• 5'0": 95–128 lbs (43–58 kg)
• 5'2": 101–136 lbs (46–62 kg)
• 5'4": 108–145 lbs (49–66 kg)
• 5'6": 115–154 lbs (52–70 kg)
• 5'8": 122–164 lbs (55–74 kg)
• 5'10": 129–173 lbs (59–79 kg)
• 6'0": 136–183 lbs (62–83 kg)
• 6'2": 144–194 lbs (65–88 kg)

Use the BMI calculator to get your number instantly with either metric or imperial units — it also shows you which category you fall into and what the normal range looks like for your height.

Method 2: The Hamwi formula — a clinical rule of thumb

The Hamwi method was developed in 1964 for clinical nutrition and is still used in hospitals and by dietitians to quickly estimate a patient's ideal body weight without any complex math. It works from a fixed base and adds weight per inch above five feet:

• Men: 106 lbs for the first 5 feet, then add 6 lbs for every inch above 5 feet
• Women: 100 lbs for the first 5 feet, then add 5 lbs for every inch above 5 feet

A ±10% adjustment is considered acceptable to account for differences in frame size (small-framed individuals sit toward the lower end; large-framed toward the upper end).

Method 3: The Devine formula — used in medical dosing

The Devine formula, published in 1974, was originally created to calculate drug dosages and kidney function in clinical settings. It is now widely used as an ideal body weight estimate and shows up in the software clinicians use to recommend IV fluids and medication doses:

• Men: 50 kg + 2.3 kg for every inch above 5 feet
• Women: 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg for every inch above 5 feet

How the three methods compare

The good news is that all three methods produce similar point estimates — usually within 5–15 lbs of each other for any given height. Where they differ most:

• At the extremes of height. BMI gives a wide range; Hamwi and Devine give a single point estimate (or narrow range with the ±10% frame adjustment). Very tall people (6'4"+) often find that BMI allows weights that Hamwi and Devine consider above ideal.
• Between sexes. Hamwi and Devine have explicit male/female versions, reflecting that men typically carry more muscle. BMI uses the same formula for both sexes but applies the same category cutoffs, which some researchers argue overestimates health risk in women.
• For shorter heights. BMI may place very short individuals in a normal range at weights that Hamwi and Devine consider low. For heights below 5', the formulas lose some reliability.

The ideal weight calculator runs all four major formulas simultaneously — Devine, Hamwi, Robinson, and Miller — so you can see the full picture in one place and pick a target range that makes sense for you.

Why the scale is only part of the picture

The biggest limitation shared by all weight-for-height formulas is that they treat a pound of muscle the same as a pound of fat. They cannot see body composition, and body composition is what matters for health risk.

Consider two 5'10" men both weighing 185 lbs — at the upper edge of the BMI “normal” range. One is a recreational athlete with 15% body fat and plenty of lean mass. The other has 35% body fat, carries most of it around the abdomen, and has borderline blood sugar. BMI puts them in the same bucket. Their actual health situations are almost nothing alike.

Research consistently shows that where fat is stored matters as much as how much. Visceral fat — the fat stored deep in the abdomen around organs — is far more metabolically active and harmful than subcutaneous fat stored under the skin elsewhere. A waist circumference above 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men is associated with elevated health risk regardless of what the scale or BMI says.

Practically, this means:

• If your BMI is in the normal range but your waist is large, that is worth paying attention to
• If your BMI is in the “overweight” range but you are athletic with low body fat, your risk profile may be lower than the number suggests
• Body fat percentage — measured by DEXA, hydrostatic weighing, or estimated by the Navy method — gives a more accurate picture of composition than weight alone

A practical approach to setting a weight goal

Rather than targeting a single number, use the formulas to establish a reasonable range and then let health markers guide you. Here is a straightforward process:

1. Find your BMI normal range. The upper end of the 18.5–24.9 range is a reasonable ceiling; the lower third of the range is a reasonable floor for most people. Aiming for the middle gives some buffer.
2. Cross-reference with Hamwi or Devine. If the formula results cluster around 150 lbs for your height and sex, but your BMI range goes up to 165, your realistic goal is probably closer to 150–160, not 165.
3. Check your waist. For most adults, getting waist circumference under 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men) is a more actionable goal than hitting a specific scale number.
4. Let lab results tell you when you've arrived. Blood pressure, fasting glucose, and triglycerides often normalize before the scale hits the “ideal” number. When those markers are healthy, you may already be at a weight that is right for your body, even if it's above the textbook target.

A note on weight and caloric intake

Once you have a target weight range, the next question is how much to eat to get there. The driving variable for fat loss or gain is your daily calorie balance relative to your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). See our guide on how many calories a day you need to lose weight for the Mifflin-St Jeor formula and real-world examples across different body types.

The bottom line: weight-for-height formulas are useful anchors, not absolute verdicts. They tell you where a large majority of healthy adults fall, which is genuinely useful information. But they work best when you treat them as a starting range to narrow down with your own body composition, waist measurement, and health markers — not as a target to hit at any cost.