Answer 4 questions to understand what a healthy target weight looks like for you.
This quiz guides you toward a realistic goal weight — one that accounts for your muscle mass, body frame, age, and goals rather than relying on a single formula number. Ideal weight formulas provide useful reference points, but the right target weight for you is the one you can maintain sustainably while feeling strong and energetic.
The most widely used ideal weight formulas — Devine (1974), Robinson (1983), Miller (1983), and Hamwi (1964) — were developed from clinical observations, not comprehensive population data. They estimate a "reference weight" for a given height, typically for a medium-framed adult. They were not designed to account for muscle mass, fitness level, age-related body composition changes, or individual variation in bone density and frame size.
All four formulas typically produce different answers for the same person — sometimes by as much as 5–8 kg — which illustrates how approximate these benchmarks are.
A muscular person may weigh significantly more than a formula's ideal weight while having excellent health markers, low body fat, and optimal function. Pursuing a lower number in this case would require losing muscle — which worsens body composition, metabolic rate, and health outcomes.
After 40, maintaining or building muscle becomes increasingly important for metabolic health, bone density, and functional independence. A target weight that reflects good muscle mass in an older adult will be higher than what the same formula would suggest for a younger person. The right weight for a 55-year-old woman with good muscle is not the same as the "healthy BMI" weight for a sedentary 25-year-old.
The most useful definition of ideal weight is the weight you can maintain without ongoing dietary restriction — where you feel well, perform well, and don't need to fight your body. This may be higher than a formula suggests, and that's often a healthy and appropriate outcome.
A 4–6 kg range centred around the midpoint of what formulas suggest is far more realistic than a single target. Body weight naturally fluctuates within this kind of range based on hydration, food timing, hormonal cycles, and training.
For muscular or athletic individuals, a body fat percentage goal is more meaningful than scale weight. Healthy ranges are typically 18–25% for women and 10–18% for men, varying by age and fitness context. This approach accounts for muscle mass — you can be heavier on the scale while leaner in terms of body composition.
Waist circumference (health risk increases above 80cm for women and 94cm for men), energy levels, sleep quality, strength metrics, and how clothes fit are all more actionable and health-relevant targets than a specific scale number.
Should I lose weight if my BMI says I'm overweight?
Not necessarily — especially if you're muscular. BMI overestimates health risk in muscular individuals. If your waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol are in healthy ranges, a BMI in the "overweight" category may not carry meaningful health risk for you. Context matters more than the category.
What if I've never been at a "healthy" BMI as an adult?
For many people, the "healthy BMI" weight (18.5–24.9) is an unrealistic target that was never achieved or wasn't sustainable when reached. A more meaningful target is the lowest weight you maintained for 6+ months without chronic dietary restriction and while feeling well. That's your realistic set point range.
Does frame size affect ideal weight?
Yes. The Hamwi and Devine formulas include adjustments for small, medium, and large frames (assessed by wrist circumference). Large-framed individuals have a higher ideal weight than medium-framed people of the same height. This accounts for differences in bone density and skeletal mass.
How do I know if my goal weight is too low?
Signs that a goal weight may be too low: you had to restrict calories severely to reach it, you felt fatigued and cold at that weight, you lost significant menstrual function (women), or your strength and performance dropped significantly. These indicate you were below your body's comfortable set point range.