How Much Should I Weigh?

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Article Date: 23 May 2010


One of the most common questions received in our feedback emails is "how much should I weigh for my height?" In this article, we will explain the most common ways in which this can be calculated.
To determine how much you should weigh (your ideal body weight) several factors should be considered, including age, muscle-fat ratio, height, sex, and bone density.

Some people suggest that calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the best way to decide whether your body weight is ideal. Others say that BMI is faulty as it does not account for muscle mass and that waist-hip ratio is better.

One person's ideal body weight may be completely different from another's. If you compare yourself to family and friends you risk either aiming too high if you are surrounded by obese or overweight people, or too low if everyone around you works as fashion models.

Even comparing yourself with people outside your immediate surroundings may not work.

The levels of overweight and obesity in one country, such as the USA or UK, are much higher than in The Netherlands. So a Dutch person may aim for a lower ideal weight than an American if all he did was to compare himself to other people.

Is Body Mass Index (BMI) a good measure?

Your BMI is your weight in relation to your height.

BMI metric units: Your weight (kilograms) divided by the square of your height (meters)
e.g. Weight 80 kilograms. Height 1.8 meters.
1.82 meters = 3.24
80 divided by 3.24 = BMI 24.69.

Imperial units: Your weight (pounds) times 703, divided by the square of your height in inches.
e.g. Weight 190 pounds. Height 6 ft (72 inches)
722 = 5184
190 x 703 divided by 5184 = BMI 25.76
Health authorities worldwide mostly agree that:

People with a BMI of less than 18.5 are underweight.
A BMI of between 18.5 and 25 is ideal.
Somebody with a BMI between 25 and 30 is classed as overweight.
A person with a BMI over 30 is obese.
In some countries health authorities say the lower limit for BMI is 20, anything below it is underweight.

To calculate your BMI, use our BMI Calculator
What is the problem with BMI?

BMI is a very simple measurement which does not take into account the person's waist, chest or hip measurements. An Olympic 100 meters sprint champion may have a BMI higher than a couch potato of the same height. The couch potato may have a big belly, not much muscle and a lot of body fat on his hips, upper thighs, in his blood and other parts of his body. While the athlete will have a smaller waist, much less body fat, and most likely enjoy better health. According to a purely BMI criteria, the couch potato is healthier.

BMI does not take into account bone density (bone mass). A person with severe osteoporosis (very low bone density) may have a lower BMI than somebody else of the same height who is healthy, but the person with osteoporosis will have a larger waist, more body fat and weak bones.

Many experts criticize BMI as not generally useful in evaluation of health. It is at best a rough ballpark basic standard that may indicate population variations, but should not be used for individuals in health care.

Put simply: experts say that BMI underestimates the amount of body fat in overweight/obese people and overestimates it in lean or muscular people.

What is Waist-hip ratio (WHR)


This is the ratio of the circumference of your waist to that of your hips. You measure the smallest circumference of your waist, usually just above your belly button, and divide that total by the circumference of your hip at its widest part.

If a woman's waist is 28 inches and her hips are 36 inches, her WHR is 28 divided by 36 = 0.77. Below is a breakdown of WHR linked to risk of cardiovascular health problems.

Male WHR
Less than 0.9 - low risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.9 to 0.99 - moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
1 or over - high risk of cardiovascular problems
Female WHR
Less than 0.8 - low risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.8 to 0.89 - moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.9 or over - high risk of cardiovascular problems
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
80
1,725
New York City
Article Date: 23 May 2010


One of the most common questions received in our feedback emails is "how much should I weigh for my height?" In this article, we will explain the most common ways in which this can be calculated.
To determine how much you should weigh (your ideal body weight) several factors should be considered, including age, muscle-fat ratio, height, sex, and bone density.

Some people suggest that calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the best way to decide whether your body weight is ideal. Others say that BMI is faulty as it does not account for muscle mass and that waist-hip ratio is better.

One person's ideal body weight may be completely different from another's. If you compare yourself to family and friends you risk either aiming too high if you are surrounded by obese or overweight people, or too low if everyone around you works as fashion models.

Even comparing yourself with people outside your immediate surroundings may not work.

The levels of overweight and obesity in one country, such as the USA or UK, are much higher than in The Netherlands. So a Dutch person may aim for a lower ideal weight than an American if all he did was to compare himself to other people.

Is Body Mass Index (BMI) a good measure?

Your BMI is your weight in relation to your height.

BMI metric units: Your weight (kilograms) divided by the square of your height (meters)
e.g. Weight 80 kilograms. Height 1.8 meters.
1.82 meters = 3.24
80 divided by 3.24 = BMI 24.69.

Imperial units: Your weight (pounds) times 703, divided by the square of your height in inches.
e.g. Weight 190 pounds. Height 6 ft (72 inches)
722 = 5184
190 x 703 divided by 5184 = BMI 25.76
Health authorities worldwide mostly agree that:

People with a BMI of less than 18.5 are underweight.
A BMI of between 18.5 and 25 is ideal.
Somebody with a BMI between 25 and 30 is classed as overweight.
A person with a BMI over 30 is obese.
In some countries health authorities say the lower limit for BMI is 20, anything below it is underweight.

To calculate your BMI, use our BMI Calculator
What is the problem with BMI?

BMI is a very simple measurement which does not take into account the person's waist, chest or hip measurements. An Olympic 100 meters sprint champion may have a BMI higher than a couch potato of the same height. The couch potato may have a big belly, not much muscle and a lot of body fat on his hips, upper thighs, in his blood and other parts of his body. While the athlete will have a smaller waist, much less body fat, and most likely enjoy better health. According to a purely BMI criteria, the couch potato is healthier.

BMI does not take into account bone density (bone mass). A person with severe osteoporosis (very low bone density) may have a lower BMI than somebody else of the same height who is healthy, but the person with osteoporosis will have a larger waist, more body fat and weak bones.

Many experts criticize BMI as not generally useful in evaluation of health. It is at best a rough ballpark basic standard that may indicate population variations, but should not be used for individuals in health care.

Put simply: experts say that BMI underestimates the amount of body fat in overweight/obese people and overestimates it in lean or muscular people.

What is Waist-hip ratio (WHR)


This is the ratio of the circumference of your waist to that of your hips. You measure the smallest circumference of your waist, usually just above your belly button, and divide that total by the circumference of your hip at its widest part.

If a woman's waist is 28 inches and her hips are 36 inches, her WHR is 28 divided by 36 = 0.77. Below is a breakdown of WHR linked to risk of cardiovascular health problems.

Male WHR
Less than 0.9 - low risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.9 to 0.99 - moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
1 or over - high risk of cardiovascular problems
Female WHR
Less than 0.8 - low risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.8 to 0.89 - moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.9 or over - high risk of cardiovascular problems

The BMI tells a fat person they're fat :)

Also, are you sure that W/H ratio for men and women is correct? I think it's the other way around. For men, >0.8 is a prognisticator and >1 for women from the article I remember reading at the Harvard School of Public Health.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
80
1,725
New York City

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
80
1,725
New York City
Besides think W/H is more important because that visceral fat is recirculated back to the liver where it's packaged into VLDL and LDL. Interesting side note though. And the thing is that most body fat measurements, even the Bod Pod or hydrostatic weighting, underestimate a person's pct. body fat. The new gold standard is DEXA (same instrument used for BMD) and athletes who have been told they're 3-5 pct. freak out when they learn their actual body fat percentages ;)
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
I don't get the wait to hip ratio. Aren't we born with certain shape/size hip? If someone has flat behind, they get to be in worse shape just because?
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
80
1,725
New York City
I don't get the wait to hip ratio. Aren't we born with certain shape/size hip? If someone has flat behind, they get to be in worse shape just because?

Waist usually is measured at the height of the navel. Hip is the widest part of the buttocks. That gives you the ratio.

Flat behind = lack of gluteus maximus (glute max) development; this is most commonly seen as a flattened upper third of the buttocks. These people will probably also have a severe anterior hip tilt, leading to the reciprocal inhibition of the glutes and abdominals. We call this, from the pioneering work of Vladamir Janda, lower cross syndrome. I won't get into the issues accompanying lower cross since it's not germane to the topic.

People have different fat depots. Women because of estrogen, tend to accumulate fat on in the hips or butt. Men because of testosterone, tend to put fat on in the visceral region. After women go through menopause, they tend to acquire the male fat depot pattern. There are people like Charles Staley who believe that other hormones lead to different fat deposition pattern and that by addressing them, one can lead to selective fat loss (yes, I know that goes against current dogma but there's something to what Charles does).
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
I am twenty-five pounds overweight. I know it and I know why.

All my life I've been in top shape, then one day the world just shattered on top of me (stock market).
From then on I gained weight and wisdom... :)

I lost all my money, all my toys (cars, trucks, homes, guitars, ...), all my friends, all my girlfriends,
and with all that people look at me like a mental loser!

This my fellow WBF members is the sad reality we, some of us, live in!

What's Weight has to do with it? ...Welcome to America, the land of Consommation, Gambling, Junk Food, and Upside Down Way of Living! :)
 

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
Oh, and do you know the influence of music on your body's weight?

No bouncing back (reflectivity), more absorption, better low bass frequencies balance, smoother highs, and less impact on most sensitive areas...

:)

_______________________

I'm 5'10", I should weight no more than 175 pounds (160 being best).
But I weight 190-200 pounds.
And during all my treeplanting career (almost 30 years) I was 160 pounds dead on!
Like I said, top shape.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
80
1,725
New York City

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
80
1,725
New York City
Oh, and do you know the influence of music on your body's weight?

No bouncing back (reflectivity), more absorption, better low bass frequencies balance, smoother highs, and less impact on most sensitive areas...

:)

Depend on whether or not you're high :)
 

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,309
1,293
1,730
Pleasanton, CA
Congratulations, Steve, that's a hard one to do.
 

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