Ideal Weight Calculator
Calculate ideal body weight (Devine)
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Need to calculate ideal body weight (Devine)? Ideal Weight Calculator answers in seconds. Type Height (cm) into Ideal Weight; each keystroke re-runs the math. Ideal Weight puts the headline number first. Ideal Weight works for one check or many. Nothing typed into Ideal Weight leaves your device or the tab. Ideal Weight sits in the Health section next to related tools and free online ideal weight calculator. Keep Ideal Weight bookmarked for next time. Try Ideal Weight now and keep it handy.
Ideal body weight (IBW) from height
Ideal body weight is a reference figure rather than a target: the Devine formula was written for drug dosing and returns one weight for a given height. It is shown here next to the healthy range, which is the wider band worth reading first.
That is 50 kg for the first five feet plus 2.3 kg for each of the 6.9 inches above it.
The Devine formula, and what it is for
Men: 50 + 2.3 × (height in inches − 60) · Women: 45.5 + 2.3 × (height in inches − 60)
170 cm is 66.93 inches, so a man: 50 + 2.3 × 6.93 = 65.9 kg; a woman: 45.5 + 15.9 = 61.4 kg.
| Height | Men (kg) | Women (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| 150 cm | 47.8 | 43.3 |
| 160 cm | 56.9 | 52.4 |
| 170 cm | 65.9 | 61.4 |
| 180 cm | 75.0 | 70.5 |
| 190 cm | 84.0 | 79.5 |
The Devine formula was written for drug dosing, where a single weight is needed to size a dose. It is not a personal target weight and it ignores frame size and muscle mass, so a BMI range is a different and usually more useful screen.
Related: BMI calculator and health calculators.
The formula
Height in inches = height in cm ÷ 2.54
Men: ideal = 50 + 2.3 × (inches − 60)
Women: ideal = 45.5 + 2.3 × (inches − 60)
The 60 inches is five feet, the height the formula was built around. Every inch above it adds 2.3 kg, the same increment for both sexes; only the starting weight differs.
Worked examples
170 cm man → 66.9 inches → 50 + 2.3 × 6.9 = 65.9 kg
170 cm woman → 66.9 inches → 45.5 + 2.3 × 6.9 = 61.4 kg
160 cm man → 63.0 inches → 50 + 2.3 × 3.0 = 56.9 kg
160 cm woman → 63.0 inches → 45.5 + 2.3 × 3.0 = 52.4 kg
180 cm man → 70.9 inches → 50 + 2.3 × 10.9 = 75.0 kg
180 cm woman → 70.9 inches → 45.5 + 2.3 × 10.9 = 70.5 kg
Reading the number honestly
65.9 kg is a single point, not a healthy range. At 170 cm the BMI band of 18.5 to 24.9 spans roughly 53.5 to 72 kg, and 65.9 kg sits comfortably inside it — which is the point. Devine was derived from insurance tables in 1974 to set drug doses and ventilator volumes, not to grade bodies.
The formula is linear in height, so it drifts at the extremes. Very tall people get a low figure relative to their frame, and very short adults can get a value that looks implausibly light. Below 152 cm the subtraction goes negative and the result stops being meaningful.
It also ignores build entirely. A 170 cm lifter at 78 kg and 12% body fat can be leaner than a sedentary adult at 66 kg, yet the formula calls the second one ideal. Muscle, bone width, age and pregnancy all move the real target, and none of them appear in the equation.
Treat the result as a reference midpoint: useful for a drug-dose sanity check or a rough starting range, not as a goal that overrides how you actually feel and perform.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ideal weight for a 170 cm man?
About 65.9 kg by the Devine formula, which gives 50 kg plus 2.3 kg for each inch above five feet.
Why do men and women get different results?
The formula starts men at 50 kg and women at 45.5 kg at five feet, then adds the same 2.3 kg per inch, so the gap stays at 4.5 kg at every height.
Is Devine the same as BMI?
No. BMI is a range built from weight and height, while Devine returns one target weight. A Devine result usually falls inside the healthy BMI band, but the two are different tools.
Does the calculator work below five feet?
It runs, but the result is unreliable. The inches minus 60 term turns negative, so short adults get a weight that no longer reflects a healthy frame.
Can athletes use this number?
Only as a loose reference. Muscle weighs more than fat, so a lean athlete can sit above the Devine figure while carrying very little fat.
Can I use this page for "desired weight calculator"?
Ideal Weight Calculator handles that: set the Height, Gender and the result updates instantly, with the working shown.
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