Ideal Weight Calculator

What is ideal weight?

An ideal weight calculator gives you a healthy target weight range for your height. Unlike BMI, which judges where you are, ideal weight formulas suggest where to aim — a number many people find more motivating when they start a fitness plan. Doctors have used these formulas since the 1970s to set reference weights for medication dosing and health screening.

This calculator uses the Robinson formula (1983), one of the most widely used clinical formulas:

• Men: ideal weight (kg) = 52 + 1.9 × (height in inches − 60)
• Women: ideal weight (kg) = 49 + 1.7 × (height in inches − 60)

The calculator also shows a healthy range of ±10% around the ideal, because no single number suits everybody.

How it works

The formula starts from a base weight for a 5-foot (152 cm) person — 52 kg for men, 49 kg for women — then adds a fixed amount for every inch above 5 feet. Enter your height in centimetres; the calculator converts to inches automatically. The ±10% band then gives you a realistic zone rather than a pass/fail number.

How to use this calculator

1. Select your gender.
2. Enter your height in centimetres.
3. Read your ideal weight and the healthy range around it.
4. Use the range as a long-term target, not a deadline — aim for the band, not the exact centre.

Worked example

A man who is 175 cm tall (175 ÷ 2.54 = 68.9 inches):

Ideal = 52 + 1.9 × (68.9 − 60) = 52 + 1.9 × 8.9 = 52 + 16.9 = 68.9 kg

Healthy range (±10%): 62.0 – 75.8 kg

So anything roughly between 62 and 76 kg is a sensible long-term target for him.

Limitations and tips

• It is a range, not a verdict: frame size, muscle mass and age all shift your personal sweet spot. A weightlifter can be perfectly healthy above the range.
• One formula among several: Devine, Miller and Hamwi formulas give slightly different answers — they all agree within a few kilos. The trend matters more than the exact figure.
• Combine with BMI: check that your target range overlaps the BMI healthy band (18.5–24.9). If both agree, your target is solid.
• Health beats the number: blood pressure, cholesterol, fitness and how you feel matter more than hitting an exact kilo. Use the range as a guide, not an obsession.

Setting a realistic target

If your current weight is well above the range, do not aim straight for the middle — set staged goals of 5% at a time. Losing 5% of body weight already improves blood pressure, blood sugar and joint load measurably, and each stage makes the next one easier. Celebrate reaching the top of the range first; the middle can wait.