Healthy Weight Range Calculator — By Height
Find the weight range that gives a healthy adult BMI at your height, including the lower thresholds NICE recommends for some ethnic backgrounds, and see how far your current weight is from it.
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Enter your weight
At a steady 1–2 lb (0.5–0.9 kg) a week
Weight at Each BMI Boundary
Healthy range and the weights where overweight and obesity begin, at heights near yours.
| Height | Healthy Range | Overweight from | Obesity from |
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How this range is calculated
BMI is weight (kg) ÷ height (m)². Working backwards, the weight at any BMI is BMI × height (m)². The healthy range runs from BMI 18.5 to 24.9 using the WHO adult categories, where 25 marks overweight and 30 marks obesity.
NICE recommends lower thresholds for people with a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean family background, because cardiometabolic risk occurs at a lower BMI: overweight from 23 and obesity from 27.5. With that option on, the upper end of the healthy range becomes 22.9.
By Suhaib Hassan · Reviewed 28 September 2026 against WHO, NICE and CDC guidance · How CalculatePilot verifies formulas →
A worked example
At 5′7″ (1.702 m), height squared is 2.897 m². The healthy range is 18.5 × 2.897 = 53.6 kg to 24.9 × 2.897 = 72.1 kg, or about 118 to 159 lb. With the NICE lower thresholds, the upper end is 22.9 × 2.897 = 66.3 kg (146 lb).
Using this as one reference point, not a strict target
Because it's derived from BMI, this range carries the same limitations — it doesn't distinguish muscle from fat, so very muscular people may sit above it while still having a healthy body composition, and the reverse can be true for people with low muscle mass. Pairing it with waist measurements or body composition, and ideally advice from a healthcare provider, gives a fuller picture. The range applies to adults; children and teens use age- and sex-specific BMI percentiles.
If you're above the range, the CDC notes that people who lose weight gradually — about 1 to 2 pounds a week — are more likely to keep it off.
What to check after you have a range
A weight inside the range does not show where body fat sits. Two useful next checks: your waist-to-height ratio, which adds information about fat around the middle that BMI cannot see, and your body fat percentage if you train and think the range misjudges your muscle. If your weight, waist or recent changes concern you, a healthcare provider can read them alongside blood pressure, blood tests and family history.
Sources
- CDC — Adult BMI categories
- NICE guideline NG246 — Overweight and obesity management (recommendation 1.9.11, ethnicity-specific thresholds)
- World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. WHO Technical Report Series 894, 2000.
- CDC — Losing weight
Frequently asked questions
Does this account for muscle mass?
No — like standard BMI, this range doesn't distinguish between muscle and fat, so very muscular individuals may fall above this range while still being at a healthy body composition.
Should I try to hit the exact middle of this range?
Not necessarily — this range is a general statistical reference, not a personalized target. Where you sit within (or even slightly outside) this range depends on individual factors like frame size and muscle mass.
Why is there a lower range for some ethnic backgrounds?
Research shows people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African and African-Caribbean backgrounds tend to develop weight-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes at a lower BMI, so NICE recommends treating a BMI of 23 as the start of overweight for these groups.
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