A person’s ideal body weight is based on their healthy weight range according to the Body Mass Index. It calculates your weight at the lower end of the range and also at the upper end of the range. An individual’s weight should therefore fall somewhere between those two figures. The calculation is presented below.
Lower end of the healthy weight range = 18
Upper end of the healthy weight range = 25
18 x height (m)2
25 x height (m)2
Example:
18 x 1.642 = 48.5kg
25 x 1.642 = 67kg
Therefore, the above person would have an ideal body weight of 48.5kg – 67kg. This acts as a useful guide and target to work towards if you are outside of the range. Obviously, the above is a very large range so it would be wise to sit somewhere in the middle so you are not approaching the upper limit. This measurement should be used in conjunction with waist circumference measurements. Sixty seven kilos may be a healthy weight for someone with some muscle but it may not be appropriate for them if they have very little muscle and tend to hold all of that weight around their abdomen. Waist circumference is therefore a better measure of your risk of lifestyle related disease.
It is a good idea to use this measurement in combination with waist circumference and BMI to assess your health and whether your weight is putting you at risk of complications further down the track. Many people do not even realise that they are overweight – we tend to associate overweight and obesity with the extremes that are often shown on TV. This unfortunately distorts our image of a healthy weight.
To save you the work of doing the calculations yourself, use the calculator below to determine your ideal body weight. This calculator will determine your healthy range based on the Body Mass Index.
