Maintaining a healthy weight not only helps boost the self-esteem but is also good for the overall health, which can then help prevent varied lifestyle-related illnesses like heart diseases, diabetes, etc.Also, abnormal weight can be indicative of disorders like thyroid dysfunction, hormonal imbalances, or other metabolic conditions. It is therefore essential to know your ideal body weight and take relevant necessary steps, like exercising and healthy diet, etc., to maintain it.
Evaluating the ideal weight for women is dependent on varied factors like bone density, age, height, and muscle-fat ratio, etc.Some experts prefer using the Body Mass Index (BMI) method to calculate the ideal weight, while others feel that the waist-hip ratio (WHR) method is much better.
Presented below are the different methods in which women can calculate their ideal weight in terms of their height and age.
1. The BMI method
The Body Mass Index method makes use of the height and weight of a women to find the BMI, which is then used for calculation of the correct weight.
BMI calculation using imperial units
- Multiply weight in pounds by 703 (A)
- Find the square of height measured in inches (B)
- BMI = A/B.
Thus, if height is 70 inches and weight is 160 pounds, then the BMI = (160*703)/(70*70) = 112480/4900 = 22.95
BMI calculation using metric units
- Weight in kilograms (A)
- Find the square of height measured in meters
- BMI = A/B
Thus, for a women who is 1.70 meters tall and weighs 70 kilograms, the BMI = 70/(1.70*1.70) = 70/2.89 = 24.22
Most health professionals believe that the ideal BMI range is from 18.5 to 25. Anything lower than 18.5 is underweight; between 25 and 30 BMI is overweight; and above 30 BMI is considered obese. Also, a BMI below 20 is considered less than ideal weight by doctors in some countries.
As per the BMI method, the weight chart for women by age and height is provided below:
Girls (Till 20 years of age)
|Age in years||Average weight in pounds||Average height in inches|
|1||21.76||28 to 29|
|12 to 13||95 to 105||60 to 63|
|14 to 15||105 to 115||63 to 64|
|16 to 17||115 to 120||64|
|18 to 20||125 to 130||64|
Women (Aged between 22 and 60 years)
|Height in feet and inches||Weight for women with Large frame||Weight for women with medium frame||Weight for women with small frame|
It may be noted that the BMI method used to calculate the weight chart for women by age and height does not include use of bone mass or bone density. Thus, women with severe osteoporosis may have a lower BMI that healthy women of similar height and age.
Another shortcoming of the BMI method is the fact that it does not consider the hip, chest, and waist measurements.Thus, a woman living a sedentary life may have a lower BMI than an athlete woman. Even though the latter is healthier, the BMI method will suggest otherwise.It can therefore be concluded that the body fat percentage in muscular or lean women can be overestimated with the BMI method, while it may get underestimated in obese and overweight women.
2. The WHR method
- The waist-hip-ratio makes use of the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference to find the ideal weight of women. In this method, the least waist size, often just above the navel, is divided with the largest waist size, often at the hips.Thus, the WHR of a woman with 31 inches belly waist and 37 inches hip waist will be 31/37 = 0.83.
- The WHR method is considered to be a better method than the BMI method to help prepare the ideal weight chart for women by age and height as well as to ascertain risks to different health problems.
Different Weight charts for women by age and height
Provided below is an ideal weight chart for girls aged between 2 to 20 years, by age and height. This weight chart information is taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US.
|Average weight values||Acceptable weight range|
|Age in years||Height in inches||Weight in pounds||Age in years||Height in inches||Weight in pounds|
Provided below is an ideal weight chart for women over 20 years old, by age and height. This weight chart information is taken from the Gerontology Research Center at the National Institutes of Health in the US.
|Height in feet-inches||
Age in years
Weight in Pounds