Ideal Weight: How To Calculate It Quickly

In this short article we will show several formulas for calculating the ideal weight; but we will deal, in fact, with what is meant by desirable physiological weight.

This value, in healthy adult subjects and not athletes or bodybuilders, is always included in the range of BMI between 18.5 and 24.9.

Below this range we speak of underweight, above of overweight – from 30.0 onwards obesity, even with various levels of severity. In the image below we can appreciate a table that differentiates these conditions.

The ideal weight does not necessarily correspond to the weight we “want” to read on the scale.

We therefore recall that numbers must be considered as such and it is unlikely that a simple value will satisfy those who – for various reasons, more or less serious – are dissatisfied of his own body image.

The result of these mathematical and therefore empirical operations represents the weight theoretical as elaborated by each author taken into consideration. As you will read, the various results may differ even significantly.

Attention! Keep in mind the statistical margin of error, as well as the instrumental and operator dependent one that could be hidden behind the detection technique and methodology.

Quickly Calculate Your Ideal Weight

How to lose weight if you are overweight

If you have already calculated your ideal weight and realized that you are frankly overweightperhaps the time has come to think about your health and start dietary, motor and behavioral therapy.

The excess weight non should be considered only as a aesthetic problem but, rather, should be of interest as a predisposing factor for disease and death. There are numerous metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, etc.), cardiovascular events, tumor forms, joint degeneration, digestive system pathologies and more, which are strongly encouraged by obesity.

That said, if losing weight were “easy”, obesity probably wouldn’t be the “social scourge” that it continues to be for Western society.

The most frequent problem is “early abandonment”, i.e. the non-compliance with dietary, motor and behavioral therapy. This happens for various reasons and, alas, the solution can be very different depending on the case.

Often however, unsuccessful attempts are due to excessively restrictive diets, protocols Of physical activity detestableo behavioral advice quasi unworkable.

Below are some small tips to lose weight autonomously with reasonableness, intervening both on the dietary level and on the motor aspect.

Ideal weight and diet

To lose weight it is essential to set up a negative caloric balancethat is to say consume more than you eat.

We could say that, in case of objective overweight, the progression of weight loss should be around 1.5-3.0 kg per month – just under 400 to 750 g per week.

To get a similar result, that’s enough curtail il 15-30% of energy from one’s normocaloric needs, or from what we introduce to remain unchanged on weight.

It goes without saying that, to have the guarantee of building a balanced diet and avoid any deficiencies or excesses, this work should be performed by a dietitian.

However, we also know that many readers prefer to “just give it a try”; here is our “plan B”:

• By ensuring that your body weight stays the same through the use of a food scale and an app, you translate everything you eat during the week into nutrients and calories. Divide the amount of energy by 7 to get your daily calorie intake.
• If your body weight has dropped by 375-750g, simply make sure your macro breakdown is reasonable and that all necessary nutritional factors are present.
• If necessary, correct; otherwise, don’t change anything and keep it up!
• If the weight has remained stable, “cut” 30% of calories; usually, excess energy comes from fats and carbohydrates.
• Remember that lipids should be around 25% and that a satisfactory protein intake in a low-calorie diet and by practicing physical activity, “usually”, is in the range of 90-110 g per day.
• As an alternative to calorie cutting, you can insert more motor exercise; in the next paragraph we will see how!

Ideal weight and physical activity

Taking for granted the “nutritional control”, any activity that increases energy expenditure participates in establishing a negative caloric balance.

The exercise can be divided into:

• customary activity: walking 10,000 steps a day, cycling, taking stairs, etc.;
• desirable physical activity: sport, fitness, bodybuilding ecc.

The important thing is that the sum of the movement “more than before” creates an energy deficit such as to cause weight loss.

Repeating the above, the increase in expenditure should have a daily importance:

• minima 200-300 kcal a day for those who are not in a hurry;
• maximum of 400-600 kcal / day for those who need to drop at a good pace (for health reasons). Use: obviously very serious cases are excluded, in which the faster you go down the better!

Even for this purpose, it is possible to rely on technology. There are applications that can predict (more or less) the energy cost that our body has to bear during exercise.

But let’s give some examples, even if it is undeniable that calorie consumption depends on the weight of the body – one of the reasons why, over time, weight loss tends to “slow down”.

Useful customary activity:

• Stroll walking: from 150 to 300 kcal per hour, from a weight of 50 kg to 100 kg;
• Stroll in bicycle: from 200 to 400 kcal per hour, same weight range;
• Taking the stairsin average between up and downcalmly: always from 200 to 400 kcal per hour.

Desirable physical activity:

• Fast walk: no more than 275-550 kcal per hour, from a weight of 50 kg to 100 kg;
• Jogging e running (running): 600 to 1200 kcal per hour (probably overestimated), same weight range;
• Cycling: about 500 kcal per hour, averaging the various training protocols – weight is less influential than in running and walking;
• I swim: from 400 to 700 kcal per hour, averaging the various training protocols – the gap is, in reality, very wide between recreational swimming (200-300 kcal per hour) and competitive swimming (near 1000 kcal per hour );
• Bodybuilding: 200 to 500 kcal per hour – weight is less important.

Without too many frills, it seems obvious that, to create a negative caloric balance, without changing the diet that “before” was normocaloric, it is essential to move daily: an hour of light customary activity or half an hour or three quarters of an hour of desirable physical activity is sufficient.

Physical activity, on the other hand, is not only useful for increasing the daily caloric cost, but also serves to:

• give an incentive to “maintenance” of the muscle trophism;
• confer functional benefitsboth cardio-vascular, broncho-pulmonary, metabolic, joint mobility, flexibility, elasticity, strength and muscular resistance – which, among other things, are the ones that have the greatest impact on health.

Muscular trophism, strength, short-term resistant strength and a certain degree of joint mobility are to be sought with the resistance trainingwith weights (not only bodybuildingbut also powerlifting ecc.) o in callistenia.

Joint flexibility and elasticity require specific stretching protocols, or the practice of “unique” activities such as yoga and the pilates.

The other functional benefits, on the other hand, can be sought with the activity a aerobic backgroundin a average intensity o elevated.

Formulas for calculating ideal weight

Formulas in Lorenz

This formula for calculating ideal weight does not take into account age or skeletal structure, but it is widely used. Furthermore, it is not applied in long-limbed and brachytypical subjects.

Ideal weight Men = height in cm – 100 – (height in cm – 150)/4
Ideal weight Women = height in cm – 100 – (height in cm – 150)/2

Broca’s formula

This formula for calculating ideal weight is the simplest but only takes into account height; the major limitations reside in the non-correspondence of the ideal weight for medium-high statures.

Ideal weight Males = height in cm – 100
Ideal weight Females = height in cm – 104

Formula of the One der Vael

This formula only considers height

Ideal weight Men = (height in cm – 150) x 0.75 + 50
Ideal weight Women = (height in cm – 150) x 0.6 + 50

Formula in Berthean

Ideal weight = 0.8 x (height in cm – 100) + age/2

Perrault formula

This formula takes into account age and height

Ideal weight = Height in cm – 100 + age/10 x 0.9

Formulas in Keys

Ideal weight Men = (height in m)² x 22.1
Ideal weight Women = (height in m)² x 20.6

Travia’s formula

Ideal weight = (1.012 x height in cm) – 107.5

Livi’s formula

Ideal weight = (2.37 x height in m)³

Buffon, Roher and Bardeen, later confirmed by Quetelet and Martin

Ideal weight Men = (1.40 x height in dm³)/100

Ideal weight Woman = (135 x height in dm³)/100

See also: Calculation of healthy weight

Weight/Height table

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