Calculate ideal weight

Compare four historical height-based weight equations with the adult BMI 18.5 to 24.9 interval for the same height.

freeworks offlinenothing uploaded
ToolIdeal Weight Calculator
Input
Output
—
Put this on your own site

The frame below runs the same code as this page, in the reader's own browser. Nothing is sent to us, and nothing is sent to you.

Pick a dark background and the text and panels follow it, so the frame stays readable on a dark page.

Preview

How it works

Devine, Robinson, Miller, and Hamwi each begin with a sex-specific weight at 5 feet and add a different amount for every inch above or below it. The BMI interval instead multiplies height squared by 18.5 and 24.9, while the displayed spread exposes the disagreement between the four linear equations.

Formula
BMI interval weight = BMI boundary × height in metres²
  • No single equation is selected as preferred because their coefficients and original purposes differ.
  • The numbers are historical reference weights, not a diagnosis or individual goal.

Worked example

A 180cm adult
The four formulas and the BMI range side by side
Input
											Height cm: 180
Sex: male
Output
												Devine: 75
Robinson: 72.6
Miller: 71.5
Hamwi: 77.3
Healthy BMI range: 59.9 to 80.7 kg
Spread: 71.5 to 77.3 kg

When to use this

Devine began in gentamicin dosing, Robinson and Miller used Metropolitan Life height-weight tables, and clinical nutrition records sometimes compare those legacy reference weights with a BMI-based interval.

Edge cases

  • Below 5 feet, each per-inch coefficient is extrapolated backward even though the traditional equations are stated from a 5-foot base.
  • At short and tall heights the four linear results separate, so all values and their full spread remain visible rather than being averaged.
  • Age, pregnancy, body composition, frame size, ethnicity, and a specific medication are absent; the height-only results receive no individual adjustment.

References