A healthy weight can depend on many factors, including your age, sex, muscle mass, bone mass, and lifestyle. Some measures, like body mass index (BMI), do not take all of these measures into account.

There’s no perfect formula to find your ideal body weight because it’s influenced by many factors, such asTrusted Source:

• height
• genetics
• sex assigned at birth
• sleep
• activity level
• body composition
• underlying health conditions
• whether you take any medications

When calculating ideal weight for adults, age isn’t typically a factor because people of the same age vary widely in height, shape, and size. What’s best for you may not be best for someone else your age.

However, age is a factor when calculating the ideal weight for children and teenagers ages 2 to 19 years oldTrusted Source because they’re still growing.

Keep reading to learn more about how to calculate and identify your ideal weight.

Height and body mass index (BMI)

Body mass index (BMI) is an approximate calculation of your body mass, which is used to predict your amount of body fat based on your height in inches and weight in pounds (lbs).

BMI numbers range from low to high and fall into several categoriesTrusted Source:

Category	BMI range
Underweight	less than 18.5
Moderate weight	18.5 to 25
Overweight	25 to 30
Obese	• class 1: 30 to 35 • class 2: 35 to 40 • class 3: 40 or greater

To calculate your BMI, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared. Multiply that result by 703.

You can also enter this information into the BMI calculator below.

BMI Calculator

Units:U.S. (Imperial)MetricHeight:Weight:

This BMI calculator is for informational purposes only. Consult a healthcare provider before making health decisions. BMI is an indirect assessment of health risk and may not be accurate because it cannot determine the proportion or distribution of body fat. BMI calculator source: National Institutes of Health (NIH).

BMI range	18.5 to 24.9	25 to 29.9	30 to 34.9	35 to 39.9	40 or greater
Height (inches)
58	91 to 115 lbs	119 to 138 lbs	143 to 162 lbs	167 to 186 lbs	≥ 191 lbs
59	94 to 119 lbs	124 to 143 lbs	148 to 168 lbs	173 to 193 lbs	≥ 198 lbs
60	97 to 123 lbs	128 to 148 lbs	153 to 174 lbs	179 to 199 lbs	≥ 204 lbs
61	100 to 127 lbs	132 to 153 lbs	158 to 180 lbs	185 to 206 lbs	≥ 211 lbs
62	104 to 131 lbs	136 to 158 lbs	164 to 186 lbs	191 to 213 lbs	≥ 218 lbs
63	107 to 135 lbs	141 to 163 lbs	169 to 191 lbs	197 to 220 lbs	≥ 225 lbs
64	110 to 140 lbs	145 to 169 lbs	174 to 197 lbs	204 to 227 lbs	≥ 232 lbs
65	114 to 144 lbs	150 to 174 lbs	180 to 204 lbs	210 to 234 lbs	≥ 240 lbs
66	118 to 148 lbs	155 to 179 lbs	186 to 210 lbs	216 to 241 lbs	≥ 247 lbs
67	121 to 153 lbs	159 to 185 lbs	191 to 217 lbs	223 to 249 lbs	≥ 255 lbs
68	125 to 158 lbs	164 to 190 lbs	197 to 223 lbs	230 to 256 lbs	≥ 262 lbs
69	128 to 162 lbs	169 to 196 lbs	203 to 230 lbs	236 to 263 lbs	≥ 270 lbs
70	132 to 167 lbs	174 to 202 lbs	209 to 236 lbs	243 to 271 lbs	≥ 278 lbs
71	136 to 172 lbs	179 to 208 lbs	215 to 243 lbs	250 to 279 lbs	≥ 286 lbs
72	140 to 177 lbs	184 to 213 lbs	221 to 250 lbs	258 to 287 lbs	≥ 294 lbs
73	144 to 182 lbs	189 to 219 lbs	227 to 257 lbs	265 to 195 lbs	≥ 302 lbs
74	148 to 186 lbs	194 to 225 lbs	233 to 264 lbs	272 to 303 lbs	≥ 311 lbs
75	152 to 192 lbs	200 to 232 lbs	240 to 272 lbs	279 to 311 lbs	≥ 319 lbs
76	156 to 197 lbs	205 to 238 lbs	246 to 279 lbs	287 to 320 lbs	≥ 328 lbs

How is BMI calculated for children?

BMI for people ages 2 to 19 years oldTrusted Source calculates an age-specific percentile and also factors in sex assigned at birth.

You can use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s BMI calculatorTrusted Source to calculate a child’s BMI.

For instance, a 5-year-old boy at the 25th percentileTrusted Source weighs less than 75% of boys their age and more than 25% of boys their age.

Like BMI for adults, the NHLBI classifies BMI for children into several categories:

Category	BMI percentile
Underweight	below 5th percentile
Healthy weight	5th to 85th percentile
Overweight	85th to 95th percentile
Obesity	above 95th percentile

BMI isn’t the only measurement

It’s helpful that BMI numbers are standardized and offer ranges of moderate body weights by height. However, BMI is only one measure and doesn’t tell the whole story.

BMI calculations don’t consider several physical, lifestyle, and medical factors that could influence your body weight.

For instance, it doesn’t consider differences in bone, muscle, and fat mass between age groups and sex assigned at birth.

This means an active person with a lot of muscle could be misclassified as having overweight or obese. Similarly, a person with lower musc.. read more