Use this free online healthy weight calculator to find the healthy weight range for your height, based on the standard BMI range of 18.5 to 24.9. Enter your height in centimeters to instantly see the minimum and maximum weight considered healthy for that height.
How to Use the Healthy Weight Calculator
Enter your Height (cm) in the height field.
Click "Calculate Healthy Weight Range" to view your healthy weight range.
How the Range Is Calculated
Body Mass Index is weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres. Rearranging that, the weight that gives a particular BMI is BMI × height². The calculator applies this to the two ends of the World Health Organization normal range:
Lower limit = 18.5 × height (m) × height (m)
Upper limit = 24.9 × height (m) × height (m)
Example: for a height of 165 cm, height² = 1.65 × 1.65 = 2.7225. The lower limit is 18.5 × 2.7225 = 50.37 kg and the upper limit is 24.9 × 2.7225 = 67.79 kg, so the calculator shows 50.37 kg – 67.79 kg.
The Lower Cut-off Recommended for Indians
Indians and other South Asians tend to develop type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease at lower BMI levels than Europeans, partly because more fat is stored around the abdomen. For this reason the WHO expert consultation on Asian populations (2004) and Indian consensus guidelines (2009) suggest treating a BMI of 23 to 24.9 as overweight for Asian Indians, and 25 or above as obesity.
This calculator shows the international range up to a BMI of 24.9. If you are of South Asian origin, it is sensible to aim for the lower part of that range, at or below a BMI of 22.9. The table gives both limits for common heights.
Height
WHO range (BMI 18.5–24.9)
Upper limit for Asian Indians (BMI 22.9)
145 cm
38.9 – 52.4 kg
48.1 kg
150 cm
41.6 – 56.0 kg
51.5 kg
155 cm
44.4 – 59.8 kg
55.0 kg
160 cm
47.4 – 63.7 kg
58.6 kg
165 cm
50.4 – 67.8 kg
62.3 kg
170 cm
53.5 – 72.0 kg
66.2 kg
175 cm
56.7 – 76.3 kg
70.1 kg
180 cm
59.9 – 80.7 kg
74.2 kg
185 cm
63.3 – 85.2 kg
78.4 kg
Making Sense of Your Range
The range is wide on purpose. For adult heights it spans roughly 13 to 22 kg, because people with the same height differ in frame size and muscle. Anywhere inside it is considered a healthy weight by BMI.
Check your waist as well. A waist above 90 cm for men or 80 cm for women is treated as abdominal obesity in Indian guidelines, even if your weight is within the range.
Muscular people, such as athletes and those who lift weights, can be above the upper limit without carrying excess fat. Older adults, on the other hand, can be within the range while having lost muscle.
If you are above the range, losing even 5 to 10% of your current weight can improve blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. A steady loss of about 0.5 to 1 kg a week is generally considered safe.
If you are below the lower limit, especially after unplanned weight loss, it is worth seeing a doctor to rule out an underlying cause.
Who Should Not Use This Range
The adult BMI range does not apply to children and teenagers under 18, whose healthy weight depends on age and sex and is judged with growth charts. It also does not apply during pregnancy, when weight gain is expected and is guided by pre-pregnancy BMI. People with a medical condition affecting weight should follow the target set by their doctor. This tool is for general information and is not medical advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
The calculator multiplies the square of your height in meters by the standard BMI thresholds of 18.5 and 24.9 to get the minimum and maximum weight (in kilograms) considered within the normal BMI range for your height.
The BMI calculator takes your weight and height and tells you which BMI category you fall into, while this tool works backwards from your height alone to show you the full weight range that would keep you in the "Normal" BMI category.
The range is a general population guideline based on BMI and doesn't account for muscle mass, age, or body frame, so it's for general informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.
Convert it to total inches and multiply by 2.54. For example, 5 feet 4 inches is 64 inches, and 64 × 2.54 = 162.56 cm. Entering 162.56 gives a healthy range of about 48.89 to 65.80 kg.
No. Adult BMI cut-offs are the same for men and women, so the range depends only on height. Women usually carry more body fat than men at the same BMI, which is one reason a body fat or waist measurement is a useful second check.