Moose & Doc's Ideal Weight Calculator

Dr. Steven B Halls | Online since 1999

Four ways to look at ideal weight, compared side by side: what other people your age and height call ideal, a medical BMI recommendation, the old Metropolitan Life tables, and the classic ideal body weight formulas.

Please enter your weight, height, age and gender, then press Calculate.

Your numbers

Weight

Units

Height (feet and inches)

or total height

Units

Age

Age group

I'm a

People's Choice ideal weight

People's Choice Ideal Weight:

This is the average weight that other people of your age, height, weight and gender would describe as their ideal weight.

Medical recommendation

Medical Recommendation:

Your current Body Mass Index: kg/m²

This recommendation is based on a Body Mass Index range of 19 to 25. Medical evidence suggests that all weights within this range are reasonably equally healthy for people of your height. Outside the range, health risks may occur.

Two older methods

Metropolitan Life tables

for frame size

Taken from the height and weight look-up tables created by the Metropolitan Life Insurance company in 1979. These values are too large for short people and wrong for tall people, and they have no age adjustment. They are included for completeness, not recommended.

Other ideal body weight formulas

Use

Dr. B. J. Devine created these formulas in 1974; Dr. J. D. Robinson and Dr. D. R. Miller modified them in 1983. The Devine formulas were first developed to set certain medication doses from body weight and height. As a rule of thumb, use the Devine formula if you are a man, or the Robinson formula if you are a woman.

What is the difference between ideal weight and healthy weight?

The halls.md ideal weight calculator shows what other people of the same age, gender, weight and height as you would describe as their personal ideal weight. That does not necessarily mean it is the healthiest weight for you personally, because most people want to be thinner or lighter than is realistic for them. Your personal ideal weight can double as a goal weight if you are trying to lose pounds.

It helps to take other factors into account as well: your body type, your body frame (whether you have a large or small frame), and your body fat percentage as opposed to muscle mass. Waist circumference matters too, since it reflects the amount of abdominal fat you are carrying. You could sit at your ideal weight but still carry a large amount of abdominal fat and a low muscle mass, and that would increase your risk of certain diseases.

Other ways to judge a healthy weight range

The most common and traditional assessment is Body Mass Index, which is body weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. The halls.md BMI calculator also takes your age and gender into account, and it shows how you compare with others of the same age and height. You can use pounds and feet and inches if you prefer. Body Mass Index measurements, although controversial, are still used as a screening tool to assess whether someone is overweight or obese. A high BMI does raise the likelihood of developing conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and even some cancers.

The Talking Moose, the halls.md mascot from 1999

The Talking Moose, mascot since 1999.

Related calculators

Supporting pages on the evidence behind these numbers are being restored and will be linked here.