Ideal Weight Calculator
Compare the four clinical ideal-weight formulas for your height, frame and sex.
Your measurements
This is an estimate from a published formula, not medical advice. Individual results vary widely. Talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before making changes to your diet, training or medication.
This gives an ideal weight estimate from height and sex, using several established formulas.
These formulas were built for clinical use rather than as personal targets, and a healthy range is much wider than any of them suggests.
What 'ideal weight' formulas actually are
Ideal weight formulas take your height and sex and return a single number. Devine gives a man of 5'10" 161 lb and a woman of the same height 151 lb.
It is worth knowing where these came from. The Devine formula was published in 1974 to help calculate drug dosages, not to set body goals. Hamwi came from diabetes dietetics. None of them were designed as personal targets, and none of them know anything about your body composition.
A healthy weight is a range, and a wide one. At 5'10", a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 spans roughly 129 to 174 lb. That is a 45 lb window, and a single "ideal" figure sitting inside it carries far more precision than the evidence supports.
The formula gives a point; the evidence gives a 45 lb band. Where you sit inside it depends on build and muscle mass, which no height-based formula can see.
What to enter
- Height
- The only real input in every one of these formulas, which is itself a clue about their precision.
- Sex
- Each formula uses a different base weight for men and women, reflecting average body composition.
- Frame size
- Some versions adjust for small, medium or large frames, usually estimated from wrist or elbow measurements.
The formulas and where they came from
- Devine (1974)
- Men 50 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 ft; women 45.5 kg + 2.3. Developed for drug dosing.
- Hamwi (1964)
- The oldest in common use. From diabetes dietetics rather than population health research.
- Robinson (1983)
- A revision of Devine, giving slightly lower figures.
- Miller (1983)
- Another revision, generally the lowest of the four.
- BMI range
- A range rather than a point, and the more defensible approach for most people.
What this assumes
These formulas use height and sex only. They know nothing about muscle mass, frame size or body composition.
They were developed decades ago, mostly for clinical purposes, and were never validated as personal weight goals.
How to calculate your ideal weight range
Apply a formula if you want a reference point, then convert it into a range.
- inches over 60
- Height above 5 feet
- result
- In kilograms; multiply by 2.205 for pounds
Work out inches over five feet. 5'10" is 70 inches, so 10 over.
Apply the formula. Men: 50 + (2.3 × 10) = 73.0 kg, or 161 lb. Women: 45.5 + 23 = 68.5 kg, or 151 lb.
Convert it into a range. Work out the weights giving BMI 18.5 and 24.9 at your height. At 5'10" that is about 129-174 lb.
Check composition rather than weight alone. [Body fat percentage](/health/body-fat-calculator) and waist circumference tell you far more than any height-based number.
See a worked example: one figure against the real range
- Height
- 5'10", which is 70 inches
Devine, male: 50 + (2.3 × 10) = 73.0 kg = 161 lb.
Devine, female: 45.5 + (2.3 × 10) = 68.5 kg = 151 lb.
BMI 18.5-24.9 at this height: about 129-174 lb.
A muscular person at 180 lb could be healthier than a sedentary one at 155. Height and sex cannot distinguish them, and neither can any formula built on them.
161 lb by Devine, within a 129-174 lb healthy range
Frequently asked questions
They are precise-looking rather than accurate. They use height and sex only, so they cannot see muscle mass, frame size or body composition.
Most were developed for clinical purposes decades ago, Devine for drug dosing in particular, and were never validated as personal weight goals.
They were derived from different data for different purposes across two decades. Hamwi came from diabetes dietetics in 1964; Devine from pharmacology in 1974; Robinson and Miller were revisions in 1983.
For the same height they can differ by 10 lb or more. That spread is itself the honest answer about how precise any of them is.
Aim for a healthy range and pay attention to composition. At 5'10" the BMI-based range spans about 45 lb, and where you sit in it depends on build and muscle.
Waist circumference, body fat, strength and bloodwork all say more about health than hitting a specific number on the scale.
Some versions adjust by roughly 10% down for a small frame and 10% up for a large one, with frame usually estimated from wrist circumference or elbow breadth.
It is a rough adjustment on a rough formula. It acknowledges that people of the same height are genuinely built differently, which is the right instinct even if the correction is crude.
These formulas fail badly for muscular people, in the same way BMI does. Muscle weighs more than fat for the same size.
A lean athlete can be 20 lb above their "ideal" weight and in excellent health. Use body fat percentage instead; total weight will simply mislead.
No single one, and a combination works well. Waist circumference captures abdominal fat, [body fat percentage](/health/body-fat-calculator) captures composition, and a BMI range gives context.
Waist-to-height ratio is another simple option: keeping your waist under half your height is a well-supported and easy check.
Problems people actually run into
Treating a single figure as a goal
These formulas return one number to the pound, which reads as authoritative. Four respected formulas disagree by 10 lb or more at the same height.
Use a range. The BMI-healthy band at 5'10" is about 45 lb wide, and that width is a fair reflection of how much people genuinely differ.
Chasing weight rather than composition
Someone losing 15 lb of muscle and gaining 5 lb of fat has hit their ideal weight and is worse off in every way that matters.
Track waist circumference, strength and how clothes fit alongside the scale. Those catch the changes a single weight figure hides.
Results are estimates for general information only and are not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Last updated: September 4, 2026