How to use this calculator
- Enter or choose sex.
- Enter or choose units.
- The devine (1974) updates as you type. Use Copy result or Share to keep it.
Method
Devine: men 50 kg + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 ft, women 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg; Robinson: men 52 + 1.9, women 49 + 1.7; Miller: men 56.2 + 1.41, women 53.1 + 1.36
- inches over 5 ft
- height in inches (cm ÷ 2.54) minus 60
- results
- shown in kg (metric) or lb (US)
Worked example
- 170 cm ÷ 2.54 = 66.93 in, which is 6.93 in over 5 ft.
- Devine: 45.5 + 2.3 × 6.93 = 61.4 kg.
- Robinson: 49 + 1.7 × 6.93 = 60.8 kg; Miller: 53.1 + 1.36 × 6.93 = 62.5 kg.
- BMI range: 18.5 × 1.70² = 53.5 kg to 24.9 × 1.70² = 72.0 kg.
For a woman 170 cm tall the formulas give 60.8–62.5 kg (Devine 61.4 kg), well inside the BMI-based healthy range of 53.5–72.0 kg.
What the result means
These are single reference weights, not targets. The BMI range shows how wide a healthy weight can be at the same height; frame size, muscle and age all shift where you sit within it. Clinicians mainly use the Devine value to dose certain medicines and set ventilator volumes.
Assumptions and limits
- Adults 5 ft (152.4 cm) or taller; the formulas are not defined below that height.
- Formulas as compiled by Pai and Paloucek (2000).
- The formulas were not derived from health outcomes; Devine’s was an estimate for drug dosing.
- They take no account of body composition, frame size, age or ethnicity.
Questions
Which formula is most accurate?
None is “accurate” in a health sense. They give similar results near average heights and diverge for very short or very tall people; the BMI range is a broader guide.
Why is there no result under 5 feet?
All three formulas start at 5 feet. Some clinicians subtract per inch below that, but that is an extrapolation the original authors did not publish.
Sources
Please note: This is a general screening estimate for adults, not medical advice or a diagnosis. Talk to a qualified health professional about your health.