There isn't one ideal weight. For most adult women, a healthy weight is anything that gives a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. At 5ft 4in that's roughly 49 to 66 kg, or 7st 10lb to 10st 5lb. Older "ideal body weight" formulas give a single number instead, but they were designed for working out medicine doses, not as personal targets.
A range, not a number
"How much should I weigh?" is one of the most searched health questions there is, and the honest answer is a range. For a woman of average height, the healthy band is about 17 kg wide. That's nearly three stone of room.
That width is deliberate. Two healthy women of the same height can differ a lot in frame, muscle and where they carry weight. A single target number would be wrong for most of them.
Healthy weight for your height
These ranges give a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. If you think in stone, our stone and pounds chart has the same ranges converted, and the colour-coded BMI chart shows every weight in between.
| Height | Metric | Healthy weight |
|---|---|---|
| 4ft 10in | 147 cm | 40.2 – 54.0 kg |
| 4ft 11in | 150 cm | 41.5 – 55.9 kg |
| 5ft 0in | 152 cm | 43.0 – 57.8 kg |
| 5ft 1in | 155 cm | 44.4 – 59.8 kg |
| 5ft 2in | 157 cm | 45.9 – 61.8 kg |
| 5ft 3in | 160 cm | 47.4 – 63.8 kg |
| 5ft 4in | 163 cm | 48.9 – 65.8 kg |
| 5ft 5in | 165 cm | 50.4 – 67.9 kg |
| 5ft 6in | 168 cm | 52.0 – 70.0 kg |
| 5ft 7in | 170 cm | 53.6 – 72.1 kg |
| 5ft 8in | 173 cm | 55.2 – 74.3 kg |
| 5ft 9in | 175 cm | 56.8 – 76.5 kg |
| 5ft 10in | 178 cm | 58.5 – 78.7 kg |
| 5ft 11in | 180 cm | 60.2 – 81.0 kg |
| 6ft 0in | 183 cm | 61.9 – 83.3 kg |
What about "ideal body weight" formulas?
If you've searched this before, you'll have seen single-number answers from formulas named after the people who wrote them. The best known is Devine's, published in 1974. Robinson, Miller and Hamwi each produced their own version.
They all work the same way: start with a base weight for someone 5ft tall and add a fixed amount for every inch above that. Here's what they give for women:
| Height | Devine | Robinson | Miller | Hamwi | Healthy BMI range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5ft 0in | 45.5 | 49.0 | 53.1 | 45.5 | 43.0 – 57.8 |
| 5ft 2in | 50.1 | 52.4 | 55.8 | 49.9 | 45.9 – 61.8 |
| 5ft 4in | 54.7 | 55.8 | 58.5 | 54.3 | 48.9 – 65.8 |
| 5ft 6in | 59.3 | 59.2 | 61.3 | 58.7 | 52.0 – 70.0 |
| 5ft 8in | 63.9 | 62.6 | 64.0 | 63.1 | 55.2 – 74.3 |
Notice they disagree with each other by up to 7.6 kg at 5ft, and most of them cluster towards the lower end of the healthy range. At 5ft, Devine and Hamwi both sit just 2.5 kg above the point where underweight begins. That tells you something about their purpose. Devine's formula was written to help work out doses of an antibiotic, and the others were attempts to refine it. None of them was meant to tell a woman what she ought to weigh.
They still have a place in hospitals for drug dosing. As a personal goal, the BMI range is fairer and far more realistic.
Why you might sit high or low in the range
- Frame size. Women with a broader build or wider shoulders often sit comfortably in the upper half.
- Muscle. If you do a lot of strength training, you'll weigh more at the same size. Muscle is denser than fat, which is why BMI can misjudge fit women.
- Age. Muscle naturally declines with age, so two women at the same weight can have quite different body compositions at 30 and 60.
- Family background. NICE uses lower thresholds for women of South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean background, so the top of your healthy range sits a little lower.
Choosing a goal that's actually useful
If you're above the range, you don't have to aim for the middle of it to feel the benefit. Even a modest loss, around 5% of your current weight, is linked with better blood pressure and blood sugar for many people. For a woman weighing 80 kg, that's 4 kg.
If you're below the range, a goal is just as worth having, and our guide to being underweight covers how to gain weight in a healthy way.
Wherever you are, your waist measurement is worth tracking alongside the scales. It often shows progress the scales miss.
Questions people ask
How much should a 5ft 5 woman weigh?
For a healthy BMI, between about 50.4 and 67.9 kg, which is roughly 8st 0lb to 10st 10lb.
Is 9 stone a healthy weight for a woman?
For most heights, yes. Nine stone gives a healthy BMI for women between 5ft 0in and 5ft 9in. Below 5ft it tips into overweight, and from 5ft 10in upwards it becomes underweight.
What is the NHS healthy weight range for women?
The NHS uses the same BMI range for women and men: 18.5 to 24.9. The weight that works out to depends on your height, which is what the table on this page shows.
Where do you sit in your range? Check your BMI with your exact height and weight.
Calculate my BMISources
- NHS: BMI calculator for adults
- NICE guideline NG246: Overweight and obesity management
- Devine BJ. Gentamicin therapy. Drug Intelligence and Clinical Pharmacy, 1974.
- Robinson JD et al., American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 1983; Miller DR et al., American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 1983; Hamwi GJ, 1964.