The honest answer is a range, not a number, and the range is wider than most people expect. For any given height, the standard healthy band (BMI 18.5-24.9) spans about 18 kg, roughly 40 pounds. Clinicians also have "ideal body weight" formulas that collapse that band to a single figure, and the two approaches were built for different jobs. Here are both, computed by height, plus the caveats that decide which one deserves your attention.
The starting point most health organizations use is the BMI healthy range: a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9. Since BMI is just weight divided by height squared, the band converts directly into a weight range for any height:
| Height | Healthy weight (kg) | Healthy weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 152 cm / 5'0" | 43 - 58 | 94 - 127 |
| 158 cm / 5'2" | 46 - 62 | 102 - 137 |
| 163 cm / 5'4" | 49 - 66 | 108 - 146 |
| 168 cm / 5'6" | 52 - 70 | 115 - 155 |
| 173 cm / 5'8" | 55 - 75 | 122 - 164 |
| 178 cm / 5'10" | 59 - 79 | 129 - 174 |
| 183 cm / 6'0" | 62 - 83 | 137 - 184 |
| 188 cm / 6'2" | 65 - 88 | 144 - 194 |
Notice that at 178 cm, both 59 kg and 79 kg count as healthy. Anyone quoting you one exact target weight for your height is overselling the precision. The ideal weight calculator computes your range, and all three clinical formulas below, from your height.
Ideal body weight (IBW) formulas predate calculators. The most cited, Devine (1974), wasn't designed as a dieting target at all: it was built for medication dosing, where a height-based estimate beats actual weight for certain drugs. Robinson and Miller both published revisions in 1983 arguing Devine overshot at taller heights. All three share the same skeleton, a base weight at 5 feet plus a fixed kg per inch above it:
| Height | Devine, men | Devine, women |
|---|---|---|
| 158 cm / 5'2" | 55 kg (121 lb) | 51 kg (112 lb) |
| 163 cm / 5'4" | 60 kg (131 lb) | 55 kg (121 lb) |
| 168 cm / 5'6" | 64 kg (141 lb) | 60 kg (131 lb) |
| 173 cm / 5'8" | 69 kg (151 lb) | 64 kg (141 lb) |
| 178 cm / 5'10" | 73 kg (161 lb) | 69 kg (151 lb) |
| 183 cm / 6'0" | 78 kg (171 lb) | 73 kg (161 lb) |
The arithmetic is transparent: men get 50 kg at 5 feet plus 2.3 kg per additional inch, women 45.5 kg plus 2.3. Robinson uses 52 + 1.9 (men) and 49 + 1.7 (women); Miller uses 56.2 + 1.41 and 53.1 + 1.36. At 175 cm the three formulas land within about 2 kg of each other, which tells you their real precision.
Because they're answering different questions with different toolkits. IBW formulas output one number from height alone, fitted decades ago to reference populations that were smaller than today's. The BMI band describes where populations actually show better health outcomes, and it's wide because real healthy bodies vary, in frame, muscle, and fat distribution. When the Devine number sits inside your BMI range (it usually does near the middle), they agree. When you're muscular, the formulas and BMI both overcall you overweight while your body composition is fine, a blind spot the body fat calculator fixes by measuring composition instead of guessing from height.
Somewhat, and the old clinical fix was blunt: adjust the formula output down 10% for a small frame, up 10% for a large one. Frame was judged by wrist circumference relative to height. It's crude, but the direction is right. Two people at 168 cm, one narrow-wristed and fine-boned, one broad, can be 6-8 kg apart at the same health status. The BMI band already absorbs most of that spread, which is a better argument for its width than against it.
Enter your height once and get the BMI healthy range plus Devine, Robinson, and Miller estimates side by side.
Ideal Weight Calculator →Three measurements beat the scale for health signal, and none of them are your weight. Waist circumference: risk commonly rises above 40 inches (102 cm) for men and 35 inches (88 cm) for women, regardless of BMI. Body fat percentage: healthy bands run 18-24% for men and 25-31% for women. And the trend of any of them over time, which beats a snapshot. A 5'9" man at 80 kg with a 34-inch waist and 15% body fat is healthier than the same height at 72 kg with a 40-inch waist, whatever the BMI chart says about either.
Not the bottom of it. Clinicians commonly steer patients toward losing or gaining 5-10% of body weight over six months as a first milestone, because it's meaningful enough to move blood pressure, blood sugar, and lipids while being sustainable enough to actually happen. If you weigh 100 kg, that first target is 90-95, not 76. From there, a pace of about 0.5-1% of body weight per week, built from a moderate calorie deficit and kept moving with regular strength work, gets you down the range one honest kilogram at a time.
Weigh what the range says, somewhere in it, not at a magic point. Use IBW formulas for what they are, clinical reference numbers from height alone, and use the BMI band for what it is, a wide population screen. Then overrule both with waist and body fat if your build doesn't fit the averages they assume. Your target is a direction and a habit, not a decimal.
By the BMI 18.5-24.9 band, a 5'4" (163 cm) woman's healthy range is about 49-66 kg (108-146 lb). The Devine formula's single estimate is around 55 kg (121 lb). Muscular build, frame, and athletic background all justify sitting toward or past the top of the range.
The healthy BMI range for 5'9" (175 cm) runs about 57-76 kg (125-168 lb). Devine's ideal body weight is roughly 70 kg (155 lb), Robinson and Miller land a kilogram or two lower. A lifter carrying real muscle can be healthy above the whole range.
Not really. BMI and the IBW formulas see only height and total mass, so a 90 kg lifter at 12% body fat scores the same as a 90 kg sedentary person at 30%. If your waist is in a healthy zone and your body fat percentage is reasonable, the scale's verdict can be safely overruled.
No. Devine, Robinson, and Miller all anchor at 5 feet tall and assume adults. Children and teenagers are assessed with age- and sex-specific BMI percentile charts, which is a different system entirely.