Ideal Body Weight Guide

Maintaining an ideal body weight has many advantages. Not only is it healthy and more comfortable, but the ideal weight can protect you from such problems as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. If you are looking to lose weight or maintain an already healthy weight, being informed about the ideal body weight for your height can give you greater insight into staying healthy for years to come.

Men's Ideal Body Weight

• Men should be able to stay slightly leaner than women. The most important factor a man should take into consideration is his Body Mass Index or BMI. A healthy BMI will be between 19 and 24.9. To figure out your BMI, multiply your weight by 705, divide by height (in inches), then divide that number by height again. The ideal weight for a man can be found in the following ranges, as these numbers indicate healthy BMIs:

  5 feet tall: 97-127 pounds
  5-1: 100-132
  5-2: 103-136
  5-3: 107-140
  5-4: 110-145
  5-5: 113-149
  5-6: 117-154
  5-7: 121-159
  5-8: 124-164
  5-9: 128-168
  5-10: 132-173
  5-11: 135-178
  6-0: 139-183
  6-1: 143-189
  6-2: 147-194
  6-3: 151-199
  6-4: 155-204

Women's Ideal Body Weight

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, so it is important they maintain a healthy weight and BMI. For optimum health benefits, women should aim for a BMI between 20-25. That means a woman's healthy weight range should look like this:

  5-0: 97-127
  5-1: 100-132
  5-2: 103-136
  5-3: 107-140
  5-4: 110-145
  5-5: 113-149
  5-6: 117-154
  5-7: 121-159
  5-8: 124-164
  5-9: 128-168
  5-10: 132-173
  5-11: 135-178
  6-0: 139-183

Children's Ideal Body Weight

• Calculating a child's ideal body weight is a little more complicated because there is a larger range of "normal" in children as they grow. Using a BMI calculator is the only way to tell if a child is underweight, normal, or overweight, since the healthy weight range is so large, especially for children still developing through puberty.