There’s no single perfect weight for any height. Your ideal weight depends on your sex, age, body composition, and how your body carries fat. But there are well-established ranges that correlate with lower disease risk, and they’re straightforward to use. The most common tool is BMI (body mass index), which divides your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered a healthy weight for adults under 65.
Healthy Weight Ranges by Height
The chart below shows the approximate weight range that falls within a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 for common heights. These ranges apply to adults ages 20 through 64.
- 5’0″: 97–127 lbs
- 5’1″: 100–131 lbs
- 5’2″: 104–136 lbs
- 5’3″: 107–140 lbs
- 5’4″: 110–145 lbs
- 5’5″: 114–150 lbs
- 5’6″: 118–155 lbs
- 5’7″: 121–159 lbs
- 5’8″: 125–164 lbs
- 5’9″: 128–168 lbs
- 5’10”: 132–174 lbs
- 5’11”: 136–179 lbs
- 6’0″: 140–184 lbs
- 6’1″: 144–189 lbs
- 6’2″: 148–194 lbs
- 6’3″: 152–200 lbs
If your weight falls below the lower number, you’re in the underweight category (BMI under 18.5). Above the higher number puts you in the overweight range (BMI 25 to 29.9), and a BMI of 30 or above is classified as obesity.
How Age Changes the Picture
The chart above works well for younger and middle-aged adults, but the relationship between weight and health shifts as you get older. For adults over 65, carrying a bit more weight appears to be protective. Research published in the Annals of Geriatric Medicine and Research found that older adults with a BMI between 25 and 35 had better functional capacity, fewer falls, stronger muscles, and lower risk of malnutrition compared to those below 25 or above 35. The study found the optimal BMI was around 27 to 28 for older men and 31 to 32 for older women.
This means a 70-year-old woman who is 5’5″ might be healthiest at 160 to 190 lbs, well above what the standard chart suggests. The reasons are practical: older adults lose muscle mass naturally, and having some fat reserves helps survive illness, surgery, and the general stresses of aging. If you’re over 65 and your BMI is in the “overweight” range, that may actually be your healthiest zone.
Children and Teens
Standard BMI ranges don’t apply to anyone under 20. Children and teenagers are evaluated using growth charts that compare their BMI to other kids of the same age and sex. A child between the 5th and 85th percentile is considered a healthy weight. Below the 5th percentile is underweight, the 85th to 95th is overweight, and above the 95th is obesity. Because kids grow at wildly different rates, there’s no fixed “ideal weight” for a given height during childhood. A pediatrician tracks the pattern over time rather than focusing on a single number.
Clinical Formulas for Ideal Body Weight
Doctors sometimes use a simple formula to estimate an ideal body weight. For women, the starting point is 100 lbs at 5 feet tall, plus 5 lbs for every inch above that. For men, it’s 110 lbs at 5 feet, plus 5 lbs per inch. A more precise version of this (the Hamwi formula) uses slightly different math: 100 lbs plus 5 lbs per inch over 5 feet for women, and 106 lbs plus 6 lbs per inch over 5 feet for men.
So a 5’6″ woman would have an ideal weight around 130 lbs, and a 5’10” man would land around 166 lbs. These numbers sit roughly in the middle of the healthy BMI range for each height. They’re useful as a midpoint estimate, but the healthy range is broad for a reason: two people at the same height can weigh 40 lbs apart and both be perfectly healthy depending on their frame size and muscle mass.
Why BMI Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
BMI is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. It can’t distinguish between muscle and fat. A muscular person with very little body fat can register as “overweight” on the BMI scale, while someone with a normal BMI might carry excess fat around their organs. Body fat percentage gives a more complete picture.
Healthy body fat ranges shift with both sex and age. For women in their 20s and 30s, a body fat percentage under about 33% corresponds to a healthy BMI. For women in their 60s and 70s, that threshold rises to about 36%. Men carry less fat overall: the healthy ceiling is around 20% for men in their 20s and 30s, rising to about 25% by the 60s and 70s. These aren’t numbers most people can measure at home, but body composition scales and fitness facilities offer reasonably accurate estimates.
Waist Size as a Health Indicator
Where you carry your weight matters as much as how much you weigh. Fat stored around the abdomen, sometimes called visceral fat, wraps around internal organs and drives up the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic problems. Two people at the same BMI can have very different risk profiles based on waist measurements alone.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute flags a waist circumference above 35 inches for women or above 40 inches for men as a marker of increased risk. The NHS recommends an even simpler rule: keep your waist measurement below half your height. For someone who’s 5’8″ (68 inches), that means a waist under 34 inches. This ratio adjusts naturally for different body sizes and works across a wide range of heights.
To measure your waist accurately, wrap a tape measure around your midsection at the level of your belly button, right after a normal exhale. Don’t suck in your stomach.
Finding Your Own Healthy Weight
The BMI chart gives you a range, not a target. Where you should fall within that range depends on factors a chart can’t capture: your muscle mass, bone density, family history, and how your body distributes fat. A person who strength trains regularly will naturally weigh more than someone of the same height who doesn’t, and both can be equally healthy.
If you want a quick, practical assessment, combine three pieces of information. First, check whether your weight falls within the BMI range for your height. Second, measure your waist and see if it’s under half your height. Third, consider your age. If you’re over 65, the standard BMI chart underestimates your healthy range. If all three signals point in the same direction, you have a reliable picture of where you stand. If they give mixed signals, body composition testing or a conversation with your doctor can help you sort out what your numbers actually mean for your health.