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"Ideal weight" is not a health target
The four formulas in common use were built between 1964 and 1983 to help work out drug dosages, not to define a healthy body. They read closer to "people of this height usually weigh about this" than to any medical goal. None of them looks at muscle mass, frame size or where fat sits, so an athlete weighing more than the formula says is entirely normal.
A range is more honest than a number
The measure clinicians actually use is BMI, and even that is a band: 18.5 to 24.9. This calculator gives you the four formula values side by side and the weight range that band corresponds to at your height. The range is usually around ten kilos wide, and that width is the real answer.
Below 152 cm the formulas wobble
All four are written as a base weight at 152.4 cm — five feet — plus a fixed amount per inch above it. Below that height they extrapolate downwards and drift away from reality. If you are shorter than that, read the BMI range instead.
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Frequently asked questions
QDoes being at my ideal weight mean I am healthy?
Not necessarily. These formulas were built to compute drug doses and ignore muscle mass, bone structure and fat distribution entirely. Someone who trains regularly will usually weigh more than the formula suggests, and that is normal.
QFour formulas disagree — which one do I use?
Look at the spread rather than picking one. They commonly differ by more than five kilos, and that gap is the precision of the whole idea. For practical judgement the BMI range of 18.5 to 24.9 is what is actually used.
QWhy does the result look wrong for short heights?
Every one of the four is anchored at 152.4 cm and adds a fixed amount per inch. Below that they subtract their way down and diverge from measured data. Use the BMI range in that region.
QWhy do men and women get different numbers?
Because at the same height men have, on average, more muscle and denser bone. The formulas disagree about how much that matters — Hamwi assumes the largest difference, Miller the smallest.
QWhat about children and older adults?
Neither is covered. Children are assessed on growth percentiles, not adult formulas, and in older adults a slightly higher BMI is associated with better outcomes. Treat this page as an adult reference only.