So how much should i weigh for my height and age? Well, despite being a very common question each one of us keep asking, we need to take the answer very seriously. To calculate your ideal weight accordingly you must know your BMI or Body Mass Index, which is basically a relationship between your body fat, height and age. This number will help determine if you are overweight and at risk of diseases, it will also tell how many pounds to lose in order to reach your goal. Lets take a look at how to calculate your ideal weight.
height ft in weight lb height cm weight kg
Note: Fill the form and press calculate and the results will show below.
Explaining The Body Mass Index Results.
Once the results shows up, lets take a look at an example:
BMI: This is your current body mass index value according to your height and age.
normal BMI range: This is the theoretical range value of your BMI or body mass index for your body.
Your ideal weight range for your height and age is: two values shows here, the one associated with the lowest weight possible without falling in the category of underweight, and the highest permissible value you can weight for not going overweight.
Now that you know your ideal weight for your height and age, you can try our calorie calculator to understand how many calories you should be eating on a daily basis.
Extreme Cases Above Overweight.
There are several individuals who will weigh more than the average person, and cross the limit of being overweight. To make things easier lets take a look at this table:
| Category | BMI range – kg/m2 |
|---|---|
| Severely underweight | less than 16.0 |
| Underweight | from 16.0 to 18.5 |
| Normal | from 18.5 to 25 |
| Overweight | from 25 to 30 |
| Obese Class I | from 30 to 35 |
| Obese Class II | from 35 to 40 |
| Obese Class III | over 40 |
The table above shows the several categories that classify individuals according to their BMI range. As you can see there are 4 types of obese people, the overweight, Obese Class I,Obese Class II,and Obese Class III which the lather 3 are considered extreme cases and should be looked upon by a health care professional. Most of us will fall into either the Normal or Overweight type, and to lose weight its recommended to eat a healthy balanced diet as well as regular exercises. Anorexia and bulimia are eating disorders which takes the categories Severely underweight and Underweight, which we will be discussing in later chapters.
Asian BMI Ranges.
In Asian countries however, the BMI range was revised as we can see on the next table:
Japan and Hong Kong definition
| Category | BMI range – kg/m2 |
|---|---|
| Normal | from 18.5 to 22.9 |
| Overweight | from 23.0 to 24.9 |
| Obese | 25.0 and above |
This fact shows that an American person which is on the Normal weight range, can be easily considered overweight in Asian standards.
Body Fat Percentage to measure your Ideal Weight.
Your body fat percentage plays an important role when looking at your ideal weight. Body fat percentage refers to the amount of fat(which consists of storage body fat and essential body fat) divided by your total weight. This number is then multiply by 100 giving us the percentage. Lets take a look at common numbers for this variable.
The percentage of essential fat (not storage fat) is 8 to 12% in women and 3% to 5% in men.
(source: Fit & Well: Core Concepts and Labs in Physical Fitness and Wellness, Body Composition Chapter 6).
As you can see women need a higher fat percent than men do, due to hormonal predisposition.
Here is the complete table:
| Description | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Essential body fat | 8–12% | 3–5% |
| Pro athletes | 14-20% | 6–13% |
| Fitness level | 21-24% | 14–17% |
| average person | 25-32% | 18-24% |
| In Excess | 32+% | 25+% |
Why do we need to know our body fat percentage?
Good question. Short answer: its more accurate than your Body Mass Index(BMI) as explained above.
Long answer: BMI measurements dont take into consideration the fitness shape that we see on TV, magazines, models and general media. Therefore in terms of fitness(and the reason we want to lose that belly fat), the body fat percentage accurately measures the ideal image that fitness trainers will want you to achieve.
The easiest way to calculate your body fat percentage is by visiting your health care professional. He or she will have specific tools to measure accurately your percent and can provide you with health care advice regarding your weight as well. One of the most common tools used is the Body fat caliper as shown below:
Body fat caliper on right side. Courtesy of flickr by skamille
Waist to Hip Ratio.
Another useful measurement for your ideal body shape is what is known as Waist – Hip ratio, or measure of your waist divided by measure of your hips.
Practical way to measure your Waist and Hip.
A youtube video is worth a thousand words. Explanation of WHR ( waist-hip ratio)actually starts at 0:53 seconds, this video was so detailed that i decided to share it here:
So now that you know how to calculate your waist-hip ratio, did you find out your body is perfect? Please let us know on the comments.
The waist -hip ratio is a more accurate measure in terms of attractiveness, specially in women in which the perfect ratio is somewhere between 0.6 and 0.7 regardless of your height and age.
Conclusion.
After reading this long article you learned about your Body Mass Index (BMI), you calculated your BMI and your ideal weight based on your height and age. You also accessed 2 more health measure variables, the Body Fat Percentage (which can be measure using a body fat caliper), and the Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) which you learn how to measure by viewing the video. You understand that the Body Mass Index is not a perfect measure, but is somewhat very practical in terms of knowing your ideal weight. We hope you find this article very useful.
No related posts.
bmi calculator for women, body fat percentage, body mass index, how much should i weigh, how much should i weigh for my height and age, how to know if i am overweight, lose belly fat, weight loss calculator
Hello I took a look at what my weight should be and I got a fright at the fact that i am obese II people say that I am not fat but i know in myself that i have a podgy belly an these results have scared me. Its just the fact now that i need to get on a diet as soon as possible, its just knowing what you can eat an not eat!
Thank you for having this website, now i am going to do something about it.
Wow obese III YET I EAT LESS THAN MY PETITE ROOM MATE. I exercise everyday. I ride my bike sometimes 15 to 20 miles sometimes 15 minutes to 2 hours. But I
Very active . I dont drink soda anymore . I drink about a half a gallon of water per day.
I’m so sick of being FAT! I am grateful I can still jog and dance and play .
I’ve tried everything to lose weight including super glueing my lips together, purging , wiring my teeth together and more.
WON’T SOMEBODY HELP ME??!!!
You really need to go and get your thyroid checked out! It is an organ that secretes hormone that regulate your metabolism! You probably have a chemical imbalance and you might need medication to regulate it so that you can lose your few pounds. Good job on living healthy, by the way. You are an inspiration, living like that, and you should know that it is not your fault your body can’t metabolise itself. Just remember, you do not have to be a toothpick, either. Hope this helps.
So I’m 14 and I’m 5 ft 7 inches and I’m just under st risk of being overweight and that scary so I’m gonna excersice my fat as so I’m slim again ! I have a relatives birthday coming up so yh motivation to the max !!! I lost 6 pounds then gained it back again cause I wasnt eating and when I ate the food turs into fat cause I missed breakfast and most days I skip lunch aswell, that’s how I gained weight and I went through puberty aswell so my tip to people is eat a big breakfast like toast cereal and tea with 1 sugar, a healthy medium sized lunch like a nice filling salad with rocket lettuce cucumber tomatoes ( be creative with your food loosing weight doesn’t mean eating plain boring food !!!) chuck in a nice chicken breast for protein !!! Then for dinner a healthy meal but a slightly smaller portion to your lunch this his how dietitians recommend to loose weight the fastest and healthiest way without damaging your body also do 15 mins of exercise a day then 20 !!! It doesn’t take a lot it just takes a sense of creativity !!!! Look at a picture of yourself thin or an ideal weight that will motivate you or a piece of clothing which you would like to fit into again !!!! I really hope this helps you as this is what I did and I lost 6 pounds from it !!! And that was in 2 and a half weeks !!!! I have 6 weeks to loOse weight hopefully I willve slim again !!! Oh also be jealous if other people who are slimmer than you you don’t have to be spiteful about it just be like I wish I was that thin again !! That will make you more motavated I really hope this helps you beautiful ladies and bit to forget men aswell !!!!! :D
I’m 13, 5’10” and 273 lbs. I knew this is unhealthy but not THIS bad!!! Thank you for making me scare myself into anorexia! :)
Ahh I know how u feel. Just keep a positive mind n eat healthy that’s what I’m going to do to gain my body back
Wow, so I’m under the overweight section. I had my son 6 mnths ago n gained 35lbs through pregnancy. Before pregnant I roughly weighed 130lbs. Now I weigh 152. I want to loose those lbs but its soooo damn hard!!!
im almost severly underweight, but, im underweight according to that chart… i thought i was fat!
Omg! I’m 11 and am 4’6 and am at risk of being overweight! I’m so scared. I better lose that pudge in the tummy!
I hope me mum doesn’t find out I’m concerned with my weight!
Wow this scale is horrible.
Are they trying to get people sick ???