OmniTools

Standard & Ideal Body Weight Calculator

Ideal body weight from the Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi equations, with a WHO/CDC healthy-weight band.

Basis: The Devine (1974), Robinson (1983), Miller (1983) and Hamwi (1964) equations used in US clinical practice; healthy range from the WHO/CDC cut-offs of BMI 18.5–24.9·2026-08-28 verified·Not reviewed by a medical professional·Editorial policy

Before you rely on this

The Devine, Robinson and Miller equations were built in the 1960s–80s for actuarial tables and drug dosing, and account for neither body composition nor ethnicity. Read the output as a range across formulas, not as one target weight.

Tool Overview & Key Purpose

Enter height and sex and the tool shows what each of the four equations used in US clinical practice — Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi — gives as an ideal body weight. Read it as a range rather than one target, alongside a healthy-weight band from the WHO/CDC cut-offs of BMI 18.5–24.9.

Step-by-Step Usage Instructions

1STEP 1

Enter sex and height, in metric or in feet and inches.

2STEP 2

Read the spread across the four equations — a 3–5 kg gap between them is normal.

3STEP 3

Add your current weight to see your BMI with its WHO/CDC category.

4STEP 4

The difference in kilograms is shown only when you are outside the healthy band, measured to the nearer edge.

Real-World Scenarios & Practical Cases

2 Practical CasesScenario #1

Treating the target as a band, not a number

For a 175 cm man the four equations land between 68.7 and 72.3 kg, while the healthy band runs 56.7–76.3 kg. At 74 kg his BMI is 24.2 — inside the normal range, so this calculation gives no reason to lose weight.

The equations disagree because they were built for different purposes — drug dosing, actuarial tables — not because one is wrong.Scenario #2

Checking whether you are underweight

A 162 cm woman at 45 kg has a BMI of 17.1, which is underweight; the lower edge of the healthy band is 48.6 kg, about 3.6 kg away.

Gaining weight helps body composition only if muscle comes with it — the scale alone cannot tell you.Ideal body weight formulas

Each adds a fixed amount per inch above five feet (60 inches).
Devine (1974)   M 50 + 2.3 × (in − 60) | F 45.5 + 2.3 × (in − 60)
Robinson (1983) M 52 + 1.9 × (in − 60) | F 49 + 1.7 × (in − 60)
Miller (1983)   M 56.2 + 1.41 × (in − 60) | F 53.1 + 1.36 × (in − 60)
Hamwi (1964)    M 106 lb + 6 lb × (in − 60) | F 100 lb + 5 lb × (in − 60)
Healthy band = BMI 18.5 – 24.9 × height(m)² (WHO/CDC)

Pro Tips & Key Considerations

This tool follows US practice. The healthy band tops out at BMI 24.9, whereas the Asia-Pacific (WPRO) cut-off is 23 — about 6 kg apart at 175 cm.All four equations are anchored at five feet and fit poorly at very short statures; below about 150 cm, read the BMI band instead.None of them account for body composition. A muscular person can sit above the band and be healthy, so read it next to a body-fat estimate.

Sources & References

PubMed — Devine Formula (1974) Original Source CDC — About Body Mass Index (BMI)

Basis: The Devine (1974), Robinson (1983), Miller (1983) and Hamwi (1964) equations used in US clinical practice; healthy range from the WHO/CDC cut-offs of BMI 18.5–24.9 · 2026-08-28 verified