Ideal Weight Calculator

"Ideal body weight" formulas were originally developed decades ago, mostly to help clinicians estimate medication dosages for patients without needing to weigh them on the spot, and they've since become popular as general reference points for a healthy weight range based on height and sex alone. This calculator shows two of the most commonly used versions side by side so you can see how they compare.

The Devine formula, published in 1974, is still widely used in medical settings today, particularly for drug dosing calculations. It starts from a baseline weight for someone 5 feet tall, then adds a fixed amount for every inch of height above that, with different baselines and increments for men and women, reflecting average differences in frame size and body composition between sexes. The formula is originally expressed in kilograms; this calculator converts the result to pounds to keep the comparison consistent with the site's other imperial-unit calculators.

The Hamwi formula, developed a decade earlier in 1964, follows the same basic structure, a baseline weight plus an increment per inch over 5 feet, but uses slightly different numbers and was originally expressed directly in pounds. The two formulas tend to produce results within a few pounds of each other for most heights, though they can diverge more at height extremes.

Neither formula accounts for muscle mass, bone density, frame size, or body fat distribution, which is why "ideal weight" has fallen out of favor as a precise clinical target and is now generally treated as a loose reference range rather than a specific number to hit. A muscular, athletic person will often weigh more than either formula suggests while still being at a healthy body composition. Use these numbers as a general reference point, not a strict target.