Find your healthy weight range based on your height using BMI guidelines and four ideal body weight formulas: Robinson, Miller, Devine, and Hamwi.
This calculator uses only your height to estimate a healthy weight range. Body composition, age, and muscle mass are not factored in.
| BMI Range | Category |
|---|---|
| < 18.5 | Underweight |
| 18.5 – 24.9 | Healthy (Normal) |
| 25.0 – 29.9 | Overweight |
| ≥ 30.0 | Obese |
| Formula | Ideal Weight (kg) | Ideal Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| Robinson (1983) | 68.9 | 151.9 |
| Miller (1983) | 68.7 | 151.6 |
| Devine (1974) | 70.5 | 155.3 |
| Hamwi (1964) | 72 | 158.8 |
| Average | 70 | 154.4 |
The "healthy weight" range (BMI 18.5–24.9) is a general guideline for adults. Athletes and individuals with high muscle mass may have a higher BMI while still being healthy.
The intake form at a new gym asks for a healthy weight for your height, and at 5 ft 7 in you are not sure which number to write down. Depending on how you ask, the answer is either a wide band, 118.1 to 159.0 lb by the BMI method (using the female setting), or a single figure near 136 lb from the older ideal-weight formulas. This page shows both, using only height and sex, so you can see how far apart the two ideas really are.
BMI band: weight = BMI × height in metres squared, evaluated at BMI 18.5 and 24.9, the limits of the healthy category used by the CDC and the WHO for adults. The ideal-weight formulas count inches over 5 feet (n). Robinson (1983): men 52 + 1.9n, women 49 + 1.7n kg. Miller (1983): men 56.2 + 1.41n, women 53.1 + 1.36n. Devine (1974): men 50 + 2.3n, women 45.5 + 2.3n. Hamwi (1964): men 48 + 2.7n, women 45.4 + 2.27n. The page averages the four, and below 5 feet it sets n to zero.
What changes if height changes. For a woman, going from 5 ft 7 in to 5 ft 8 in moves the BMI band from 53.6 to 72.1 kg up to 55.2 to 74.3 kg, and the formula average from 61.6 kg to 63.5 kg. Below 5 feet the formulas stop responding: women of 4 ft 10 in and 5 ft 0 in both get 48.3 kg, while the BMI band still falls from 43.0 to 57.8 kg at 5 ft to 40.2 to 54.0 kg at 4 ft 10 in.
Worked example, female setting, 5 ft 7 in = 67 in = 170.18 cm, so n = 7. BMI band: 1.7018² = 2.896, and × 18.5 = 53.6 kg, × 24.9 = 72.1 kg (118.1 to 159.0 lb). Robinson = 49 + 1.7 × 7 = 60.9 kg. Miller = 53.1 + 1.36 × 7 = 62.6. Devine = 45.5 + 2.3 × 7 = 61.6. Hamwi = 45.4 + 2.27 × 7 = 61.3. The mean is 61.6 kg, or 135.8 lb, with each figure rounded to one decimal.
Because BMI is a ratio, not a single target. Adults of the same height differ in frame, muscle and bone, and the CDC and WHO healthy band reflects that spread.
Neither follows. The CDC describes BMI as a screening tool, not a diagnosis, and it does not measure fat or where it sits. Athletes, older adults and people of different backgrounds can sit outside the band and be well. Your doctor can look at the whole picture.
They are decades-old rules of thumb. Devine's 1974 formula, for example, was published to help with drug dosing, while Hamwi's dates to 1964. None was designed to judge whether a particular person is healthy.
No. These cut-offs are for adults. Children and teens are assessed with BMI-for-age percentiles, and pregnancy weight is handled with a separate set of guidelines from your provider.
The formulas add weight per inch above 5 feet and the page sets that to zero below it, so every height under 5 feet gets the base value. The BMI range still changes with height, so lean on that.