Healthy Weight for Your Height
Last updated: August 2026
Healthy weight calculator
The range inverts the healthy BMI band (18.5–24.9) for your height — the same maths behind the tables below. Where you personally sit best inside it depends on build, age and muscle; the sections below help you find that number.
There is no single correct weight for a height — there is a range, and it is wider than most people expect. At 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) the healthy band spans about 19 kg, or 42 pounds; opposite ends of it can both be perfectly healthy.
The tables below give the range for every height, from the standard BMI categories (healthy = 18.5 to 24.9) — then how to pick your own number inside it.
Healthy weight by height: centimeters and kilograms
Find your height; the outer columns mark where underweight and overweight begin.
| Height | Underweight below | Healthy weight | Overweight from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 145 cm | 39 kg | 39 – 52 kg | 53 kg |
| 150 cm | 42 kg | 42 – 56 kg | 56 kg |
| 155 cm | 44 kg | 44 – 60 kg | 60 kg |
| 160 cm | 47 kg | 47 – 64 kg | 64 kg |
| 165 cm | 50 kg | 50 – 68 kg | 68 kg |
| 170 cm | 53 kg | 53 – 72 kg | 72 kg |
| 175 cm | 57 kg | 57 – 76 kg | 77 kg |
| 180 cm | 60 kg | 60 – 81 kg | 81 kg |
| 185 cm | 63 kg | 63 – 85 kg | 86 kg |
| 190 cm | 67 kg | 67 – 90 kg | 90 kg |
| 195 cm | 70 kg | 70 – 95 kg | 95 kg |
Between rows, ranges shift about 3 kg per 5 cm — or multiply 18.5 and 24.9 by your height in meters squared (how to calculate BMI).
Healthy weight by height: feet, inches, and pounds
The same ranges in imperial units.
| Height | Underweight below | Healthy weight | Overweight from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 ft 10 in | 89 lb | 89 – 119 lb | 120 lb |
| 4 ft 11 in | 92 lb | 92 – 123 lb | 124 lb |
| 5 ft 0 in | 95 lb | 95 – 128 lb | 128 lb |
| 5 ft 1 in | 98 lb | 98 – 132 lb | 132 lb |
| 5 ft 2 in | 101 lb | 101 – 136 lb | 137 lb |
| 5 ft 3 in | 104 lb | 104 – 141 lb | 141 lb |
| 5 ft 4 in | 108 lb | 108 – 145 lb | 146 lb |
| 5 ft 5 in | 111 lb | 111 – 150 lb | 150 lb |
| 5 ft 6 in | 115 lb | 115 – 154 lb | 155 lb |
| 5 ft 7 in | 118 lb | 118 – 159 lb | 159 lb |
| 5 ft 8 in | 122 lb | 122 – 164 lb | 164 lb |
| 5 ft 9 in | 125 lb | 125 – 169 lb | 169 lb |
| 5 ft 10 in | 129 lb | 129 – 174 lb | 174 lb |
| 5 ft 11 in | 133 lb | 133 – 179 lb | 179 lb |
| 6 ft 0 in | 136 lb | 136 – 184 lb | 184 lb |
| 6 ft 1 in | 140 lb | 140 – 189 lb | 189 lb |
| 6 ft 2 in | 144 lb | 144 – 194 lb | 194 lb |
| 6 ft 3 in | 148 lb | 148 – 199 lb | 200 lb |
| 6 ft 4 in | 152 lb | 152 – 205 lb | 205 lb |
Measure your height barefoot, heels against a wall, before trusting your row — adults run a centimeter or two shorter than they believe.
Why the healthy range is so wide
What varies between two people of identical height: muscle (denser than fat — a strong person legitimately weighs more), frame size (narrow to broad builds), sex (women carry more essential fat and often sit healthily lower in the band), age (for older adults the bottom of the range is often not the healthiest place — low weight in later life is linked to frailty), and ancestry (several health bodies set lower thresholds for South Asian and East Asian descent, so the top of these tables may be higher than your doctor advises).
It cuts both ways: inside the range is not proof of health; slightly outside it is not cause for alarm.
Is the healthy range different for women and men?
The tables above are the same for both sexes on purpose: the healthy BMI band of 18.5–24.9 — which is what the weight ranges encode — is defined identically for women and men. What differs is what a given weight is made of:
- Composition. At the same height and weight, women typically carry more body fat and men more muscle. Both can sit at the same healthy point in the table and look completely different.
- Where inside the range you land. Many women settle naturally in the lower and middle part of their height's range, many men in the middle and upper part — largely a muscle-mass effect. Neither end of the healthy band is "better".
- Waist thresholds do differ. The waist measurement that signals increased risk is commonly cited as 80 cm (31.5 in) for women and 94 cm (37 in) for men — see the waist-to-height ratio guide for the version that scales with height.
So there is no separate women's table to look up — the honest answer to "ideal weight for women" is the same range, read with composition in mind.
Does the healthy range change with age?
The tables above apply to adults of every age: the healthy BMI band of 18.5–24.9 — which is what the weight ranges encode — is defined for everyone from 18 up, and no major guideline publishes separate weight-for-height tables by decade. So if you are looking for the ideal weight for a 60-year-old at 170 cm, the honest answer is that it is the same range as at 30 — roughly 53–72 kg (118–158 lb) — with two age-specific caveats.
First, body composition shifts underneath a stable number. From the 30s onward, muscle is gradually lost and fat gained at the same weight, and height itself slowly decreases from around 40 — so a BMI that was mid-range muscle at 30 can be mostly fat at 70. That is why waist size and strength say more about health in later decades, not less.
Second, in adults over about 65 the evidence genuinely softens at the top of the range: large analyses find the lowest mortality at a BMI slightly above the standard band, roughly 25–27, and unintentional weight loss in later life is a stronger warning sign than a few stable extra kilograms. That is not a licence to aim higher — it is a reason not to diet aggressively in your 70s without talking to a doctor first. At any age, a stable weight measured under the same conditions each time tells you more than any single target number.
Finding your own number inside the range
Rather than aiming at a figure from a table:
- Check your waist — under half your height, a thirty-second check of the fat that matters most: waist-to-height ratio.
- Look where you have been stable — a weight held comfortably for a year without restricting is sustainable.
- Watch composition — training changes your body while weight stays flat; body fat percentage catches what the scale hides.
- Ask what your doctor watches — blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol. Weight is a proxy for those.
- Move slowly — a target within 5 to 10 percent of current weight is the one most people keep: how much weight you can safely lose per week.
Well outside the range? Start smaller: losing 5 percent already measurably improves blood pressure and blood sugar.
Keeping track: notebook vs app
Weight bounces day to day — food in transit, hydration, salt, hormones — so only the trend tells you which way you are heading, and a notebook will not draw the trend line.
The free Weight Journal app charts weight and BMI with a trend line through the daily noise, tracks distance to a goal, and syncs with Apple Health and across your devices via iCloud — no account, no email. Photos, reminders, and PDF, XLSX, CSV, or JSON export are built in; optional AI insights describe what your history has actually done.
Weigh consistently, judge by the month. The range is roomy on purpose.
Frequently asked questions
What is a healthy weight for a 5 ft 6 in woman?
Roughly 115 to 154 lb, or 52 to 70 kg. The tables are not sex-specific, so women often sit healthily in the lower half of that band — but muscle, frame, and body composition all shift where an individual belongs within it.
Is there an ideal weight for my height?
Not a single number, no. Older formulas produced one figure per height, but they were built for medication dosing, not health, and ignore muscle entirely. A range is more honest — and where you sit inside it matters less than your waist, activity, and blood markers.
Should men and women use different weight-for-height tables?
The standard tables are the same for both, because they come straight from BMI, which does not distinguish by sex. For a sex-specific measure, body fat percentage has separate healthy ranges for men and women.
What if I'm above the range but very muscular?
Then the table is probably wrong about you. Weight scaled to height cannot tell muscle from fat, and trained people routinely exceed the healthy band while lean. Check your waist against half your height, and use the mirror and your strength as the real measures.
How long should it take to reach a healthy weight?
Longer than most plans suggest, and that is fine. About 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lb) per week is what most guidance considers sustainable — see safe weight loss rate. Reaching a 10 kg goal in five months and keeping it beats losing it in six weeks and regaining it.
Does the ideal weight for my height change with age?
The healthy range itself does not — the 18.5–24.9 BMI band is defined for all adults, so the tables above apply at 30 and at 70. What changes with age is what a weight is made of (less muscle, more fat at the same number) and, over about 65, the evidence: studies find the lowest mortality slightly above the standard range, and losing weight unintentionally is a bigger red flag than carrying a few stable extra kilograms. If you are over 65, agree on a target with your doctor rather than aiming for the middle of the band.
