Healthy weight range for your height using BMI 18.5–24.9 and clinical references.
Updated
Educational only — not medical advice. Talk to a clinician for personal health decisions.
Quick start
Enter your height to see the WHO healthy weight band (BMI 18.5–24.9) plus alternate references for Asian populations and older adults.
Switch between metric (cm) and imperial (ft + in).
Type your height. The result updates live — no Calculate button.
BMI 18.5 – 24.9 healthy weight range plus alternate references so you can match the line that actually applies to you.
In-depth guide
WHO defines a healthy BMI as 18.5 – 24.9 kg/m². Inverting that for your height gives a weight band, not a single target. This calculator shows the standard band plus alternate references for Asian populations and older adults so you can pick the line that actually applies to you.
BMI is mass divided by height squared:
BMI = kg / m²
Inverting it gives the healthy weight band for any height. For a 170 cm adult that's:
Below the lower bound is "underweight" per WHO; above the upper bound is "overweight". The band is ~18 kg wide for an average-height adult — much wider than any single "ideal weight" formula suggests.
The WHO Expert Consultation in 2004 reviewed evidence that some Asian populations carry cardiometabolic risk at lower BMI than the standard 25 cutoff. They recommended an alternative public-health action point at BMI 23.
The original BMI thresholds (18.5/25/30) were not changed globally — they remain the international standard. But for some Asian populations, treating BMI 23 as the upper edge of the healthy band gives a closer match to actual disease risk. We surface that line as an alternate upper bound.
Several large cohort studies of adults 65+ have found that the lowest mortality sits at a slightly higher BMI than 18.5–24.9. The pattern is roughly U-shaped, with the trough between BMI 22 and 27. The mechanisms are debated (reverse causation from undiagnosed illness, sarcopenia pre-loss weight) but the empirical pattern is robust.
For older adults, focus on muscle mass, function and nutrition rather than chasing the standard BMI band. Talk to a clinician — they can put your weight, strength and bone-density numbers in context.
BMI is a screening tool. It doesn't distinguish muscle from fat, doesn't see fat distribution (visceral vs subcutaneous), doesn't account for frame size or bone density. A 90 kg/180 cm lifter at 12% body fat lands at BMI 27.8 — "overweight" — with a healthy body composition.
Use BMI as a starting band, then add waist circumference, body-fat % (US Navy, DEXA) and resting heart rate / blood pressure for a fuller picture. Weight alone is a thin signal.
No. The healthy-weight calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, stored, or logged.
WHO defines BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m² as the healthy band for adults. Below 18.5 is underweight, 25.0–29.9 is overweight, and 30+ is obese. This calculator inverts the formula — given your height, it tells you the weight range that lands in 18.5–24.9.
WHO (2004) flagged that some Asian populations carry health risk at lower BMI values, with overweight starting closer to 23. We surface this as an alternate upper bound; the standard 24.9 line is the default. If your physician has recommended the lower threshold for you, use the Asian-adjusted number.
Several cohort studies of adults 65+ show lower mortality at slightly higher BMI — around 22 to 27. We surface that range as a separate band so older users can reference it. Talk to a clinician for personal advice — strength, function and nutrition matter more than weight in this group.
It's a screening tool, not a diagnosis. BMI ignores muscle mass, fat distribution and bone density. A muscular athlete can land in the 'overweight' band with healthy body composition, and an inactive person can land in the 'healthy' band with high body fat. Use BMI alongside body-fat % and waist circumference for a fuller picture.
There isn't one. Even within the healthy BMI band, the right target depends on muscle mass, frame size and ethnicity. We show the Devine formula as a single anchor point alongside the band so you can read it as a range, not a fixed line.
If you carry significant muscle mass (regular resistance training), the upper end of the band is realistic and you'll likely be lean there. If you're sedentary, the middle of the band is more typical for healthy body composition. Track waist circumference and body-fat % alongside weight.
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