Healthy Weight Calculator (Based on BMI)

How to Use Our Healthy Weight Calculator

To get the most accurate results, please provide your current biological information. These inputs allow the calculator to determine your healthy weight range based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale.

• Height: Enter your height without shoes. You can use feet and inches (e.g., 5′ 9″) or total centimeters.

• Weight: Enter your current weight. The calculator accepts pounds (lbs) or kilograms (kg).

• Age: Enter your age in years. Age helps provide context, as body composition can change over a lifetime. This calculator is intended for adults 20 years and older.

• Gender: Select your biological sex. This is used to calculate results for several traditional “ideal weight” formulas, which are provided for historical context.

Understanding Your Healthy Weight Results

The most important result from this calculator is not a single number, but a Healthy Weight Range. This range represents the weights at which a person of your height would have a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9, which is considered healthy by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Here is a breakdown of what your results mean:

BMI Categories Chart

Your BMI score places you into one of the following standard weight status categories.

Important Note on BMI: While BMI is a very useful screening tool for the general population, it has limitations. It does not distinguish between fat mass and muscle mass. This means it may misclassify very muscular individuals (like athletes) as “overweight” when they are actually very lean.

Frequently Asked Questions About Healthy Weight

How is my healthy weight range actually calculated?

The calculator first calculates your BMI. Then, it works backward to determine the weight you would need to be to fall at the bottom (18.5 BMI) and top (24.9 BMI) of the “Normal” range.

Concrete Example:

Let’s calculate the healthy weight range for a person who is 5′ 8″ (68 inches) tall.

1. Convert Height: First, convert height to meters: $68\text{ inches}\times 0.0254\text{ m/in}=1.7272\text{ meters}$.

2. Square the Height: (1.7272 m)2≈2.983 m2.

3. Calculate Low End of Range (18.5 BMI):

   • 18.5 BMI×2.983 m2=55.19 kg

   • $55.19\text{ kg}\times 2.20462\text{ lbs/kg}\approx \text{122 lbs}$.

4. Calculate High End of Range (24.9 BMI):

   • 24.9 BMI×2.983 m2=74.28 kg

   • $74.28\text{ kg}\times 2.20462\text{ lbs/kg}\approx \text{164 lbs}$.

So, for a 5’8″ person, the healthy weight range is approximately 122 to 164 pounds.

Why is it a ‘range’ and not a single ‘ideal’ number?

Health is not a single number on a scale. People have different body frames (small, medium, large), bone densities, and muscle mass. A “range” acknowledges that a variety of weights can be healthy for the same height. It’s a more realistic and forgiving approach than chasing a single, often arbitrary, “ideal” weight number from an outdated formula.

What if I’m very muscular? My BMI says I’m overweight.

This is the most common and valid criticism of BMI. Because muscle is much denser than fat, a very muscular person with low body fat can have a high body weight, pushing their BMI into the “overweight” or even “obese” category. If you are an athlete or have a lot of muscle mass, BMI is not the best indicator for you. In this case, measuring your body fat percentage is a much more accurate way to assess your health and body composition.

Is BMI the best way to measure a healthy weight?

For the general population, BMI is considered an effective, simple, and inexpensive screening tool. However, it’s not a direct measure of health. For a more complete picture, healthcare providers also consider other factors:

• Waist Circumference: A high waist circumference (over 35 inches for women, 40 inches for men) can indicate excess abdominal fat, which is a key risk factor for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, regardless of BMI.

• Body Fat Percentage: This measures how much of your weight is fat versus lean mass.

• Blood Pressure & Blood Work: These clinical tests give a direct look at your metabolic health.

Does my ideal weight change as I get older?

Yes, body composition naturally changes with age. People tend to lose muscle and bone density and gain fat mass as they get older. Because of this, some studies suggest that a slightly higher BMI (perhaps in the 25-27 range) may be protective for adults over 65. However, the standard “Normal” range of 18.5-24.9 is still the most widely used benchmark for all adults.

What are the health risks of being outside the healthy weight range?

Being significantly outside the healthy weight range in either direction is linked to increased health risks.

• Underweight (BMI < 18.5): Risks include nutritional deficiencies, a weakened immune system, osteoporosis, and fertility issues.

• Overweight and Obesity (BMI > 25): Risks include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer.

Next Steps:

Knowing your healthy weight range is the first step. To create an effective action plan, you need to understand your daily calorie needs. Use our TDEE Calculator to find out how many calories you burn each day. For a more advanced look at your body composition, check out our Body Fat Calculator.