Ideal Weight Calculator

Enter your height and gender to get an estimated ideal body weight (Devine formula).

The formula

Height in inches = cm ÷ 2.54
Men: kg = 50 + 2.3 × (inches − 60)
Women: kg = 45.5 + 2.3 × (inches − 60)
Pounds = kg × 2.20462
60 inches
Five feet — the baseline height the formula starts from. Below it the extra term is held at zero rather than going negative.
50 and 45.5
The baseline weight in kilograms at five feet for men and women in this formula.
2.3
Kilograms added per inch of height above five feet.

Worked example

A man 175 cm tall.

70.5 kg, or 155.4 lb.

This is a single number where reality is a range

The formula returns one weight per height and sex, which is its principal limitation. Height and sex are the only inputs — frame size, muscle mass, age and body composition are all invisible to it. Two people at 175 cm with very different builds get the same answer, and for a heavily trained person that answer can sit well below a perfectly healthy weight. Read it as the midpoint of a wide band, not as a target.

Where these formulas came from

Height-based ideal-weight equations of this family were developed for clinical dose calculation and similar practical purposes rather than as health targets for individuals. That origin explains their shape: simple, conservative and deliberately not personalised. It also explains why they should not be used on their own to decide whether a particular body weight is a problem.

Below five feet the formula flattens

The per-inch term is held at zero rather than allowed to go negative, so every height at or below 60 inches returns the same baseline — 50 kg for men, 45.5 kg for women. For shorter statures the result therefore stops responding to height and becomes progressively less meaningful.

A more useful pairing

If your reason for looking this up is health rather than curiosity, the figure is more informative alongside a body-composition measure or a waist measurement than on its own, because those reflect the distribution of weight rather than its total. Any decision about whether a weight is appropriate for a specific person belongs with a clinician who can see the rest of the picture.

Common questions

What is a healthy weight for my height?

A range rather than a point, and this formula returns only a single midpoint from height and sex. It cannot account for muscle mass, frame size or body composition, all of which shift where a healthy weight actually sits for an individual. Treat the output as a rough reference and take questions about your own weight to a clinician who can measure more than two variables.

Why does the answer only need height and sex?

Because that is all this family of formulas uses. It is a deliberately simple linear rule: a baseline at five feet plus a fixed amount per inch above it. The simplicity is why it is quick and also why it cannot be personalised.

The result seems low for me — is that a problem?

Not necessarily. Height-based formulas commonly return figures below a healthy weight for people carrying significant muscle, because muscle is heavy and the formula has no way to see it. A number that looks low is a sign that the formula lacks the relevant input, not evidence about your body.

Can I enter my height in feet and inches?

Not directly — the field expects centimetres. Multiply total inches by 2.54: five foot nine is 69 inches, which is 175.3 cm. The pounds figure in the result is converted for you.

Get tools like this in your inbox
One useful tool per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tools Pro — $9 a month

One licence key, pasted into any CYZOR tool. Today it does three things: drops the CYZOR line from PDFs you send for signature, takes CYZOR branding off your forms and adds CSV export, and switches on the AI rewrite in the resume builder.

See Tools Pro

Terms · Privacy · Refund · Contact