Your Ideal Weight - How to Calculate It

Your Ideal Weight - How to Calculate It

Most of us have an idea of what our ideal weight is - whether that is determined by wishful thinking, or by what you used to weigh. But there are some calculations that you can use to estimate what your ideal weight is considered to be.

The first deciding factor is whether you are a male or a female. Obviously men are expected to have a larger build and thus are allowed more weight for their ideal weight.

The second factor is your height. Our calculations will be done using feet and inches. The basic rule is this: if you are a man, you are allowed 106 pounds for your first five feet of height. Then you are allowed 6 pounds for each inch above that. For a woman, you are expected to be 100 pounds at five feet, and you can add 5 pounds for each inch over five feet.

For example a man who is 5 feet 9 inches tall, should weigh 160 pounds (106 + 6X9), whereas a woman of the same height should weigh 145 pounds (100 + 5X9).

Some doctors say that is really too heavy for ideal weight, so they lower the numbers a little. Men are allowed 105 pounds at 5 feet and 5 pounds per inch over that. Women are allowed 95 pound for 5 feet and 4 pounds per inch over that.

These calculations can be further broken down by whether you body type is small frame or large frame. We will not go into that here, because the difference is not significant. With the above calculations, you have a way to see how close you are to what is considered to be your ideal weight.