What is my adjusted body weight?
Enter sex, height, and weight to calculate ideal body weight by the Devine formula and adjusted body weight, the ideal weight plus 0.4 of the excess. For information only. This is not medical advice or a diagnosis. Do not use it to make treatment decisions without a clinician. No licensed clinician has reviewed this page.
- Adjusted body weight (kg)
- 89.2
The adjusted body weight is 89.2 kg (196.6 lb). The ideal body weight is 73 kg.
- Adjusted body weight (lb)
- 196.6
- Ideal body weight (kg)
- 73
- Ideal body weight (lb)
- 160.9
- Actual weight as % of ideal
- 155%
Adjusted body weight (kg): 89.2. The adjusted body weight is 89.2 kg (196.6 lb). The ideal body weight is 73 kg.
This calculator gives general information only. It is not medical advice and does not replace a doctor or other health care provider. Talk with a professional about your results. Terms of use
How to calculate
Calculates adjusted body weight: Devine ideal body weight plus 0.4 of the weight above it, in kilograms and pounds, from sex, height, and weight.
Example with the default inputs (Sex Male, Height 5 ft 10 in, Weight 250 lb): The adjusted body weight is 89.2 kg (196.6 lb). The ideal body weight is 73 kg.
Method: Ideal body weight (Devine) = 50 kg (men) or 45.5 kg (women) + 2.3 kg per inch over 5 ft. Adjusted body weight = ideal + 0.4 × (actual − ideal).
- Heights of 5 ft (152.4 cm) or more: the Devine formula is defined from 5 ft.
- The factor 0.4 is the one Bauer and others (1983) found for aminoglycosides; some drugs use other factors.
- Each weight is rounded to 1 decimal and the percent to a whole number, halves up.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Sex Male, Height 5 ft 10 in, Weight 250 lb gives Ideal body weight (kg) 73, Adjusted body weight (kg) 89.2, Adjusted body weight (lb) 196.6, Ideal body weight (lb) 160.9, Actual weight as % of ideal 155%.Source: Devine 1974: 50 + 2.3 × 10 = 73 kg; Bauer 1983: 73 + 0.4 × (113.398 − 73) = 89.159 kg = 196.56 lb
- Sex Female, Height 5 ft 4 in, Weight 200 lb gives Ideal body weight (kg) 54.7, Adjusted body weight (kg) 69.1, Adjusted body weight (lb) 152.4, Actual weight as % of ideal 166%.
- Sex Male, Height 5 ft 10.9 in, Weight 220.5 lb gives Ideal body weight (kg) 75, Adjusted body weight (kg) 85, Actual weight as % of ideal 133%.
- Sex Female, Height 5 ft 3 in, Weight 110.2 lb gives Ideal body weight (kg) 52.4, Adjusted body weight (kg) 51.4, Actual weight as % of ideal 95%.
Medical disclaimer
This calculator is for information and education only. It is not medical advice, and its result is not a diagnosis. Do not use it to start, stop, or change a treatment without a clinician who knows your health history. No licensed clinician has reviewed this page. This site's editors checked the formulas and worked examples against published sources. If you think you have a medical emergency, call your local emergency number.
When this does not apply. The Devine ideal body weight starts at 5 feet (152.4 cm), so the page is for adults of that height or taller, not for children (Devine 1974). Bauer (1983) studied aminoglycoside antibiotics in people with morbid obesity; other drugs use other weights or factors, and the drug label or a pharmacist decides which weight to use.
How the weights are worked out
- Ideal body weight (IBW), Devine (1974): men 50 kg + 2.3 kg × (height in inches − 60); women 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg × (height in inches − 60).
- Adjusted body weight (AdjBW), Bauer (1983): AdjBW = IBW + 0.4 × (actual weight − IBW).
- Percent of ideal: actual weight ÷ IBW × 100.
Heights in centimeters are converted to inches (1 in = 2.54 cm) and pounds to kilograms (1 lb = 0.45359237 kg). Each weight is rounded to 1 decimal place, and the percent to a whole number, halves up, read from the decimal value (within 1e-9, relative, of a half counts as the half). The pound values are the unrounded kilogram values divided by 0.45359237, then rounded.
When the actual weight is below the ideal weight, the formula still gives a value between the two. The calculator shows it as is.
Inputs the calculator accepts
Height 60 in (152.4 cm) to 250 cm, weight 20 to 350 kg.
Worked examples by hand
Man, 5 ft 10 in, 250 lb. IBW = 50 + 2.3 × 10 = 73.0 kg (160.9 lb). Actual = 250 × 0.45359237 = 113.398 kg. AdjBW = 73 + 0.4 × 40.398 = 89.159 = 89.2 kg (196.6 lb). Percent of ideal: 113.398 ÷ 73 = 155%.
Woman, 5 ft 4 in, 200 lb. IBW = 45.5 + 2.3 × 4 = 54.7 kg. Actual = 90.718 kg. AdjBW = 54.7 + 0.4 × 36.018 = 69.1 kg (152.4 lb). Percent: 166%.
Man, 180 cm, 100 kg. 180 ÷ 2.54 = 70.866 in. IBW = 50 + 2.3 × 10.866 = 74.992 = 75.0 kg. AdjBW = 74.992 + 0.4 × 25.008 = 84.995 = 85.0 kg. Percent: 133%.
Woman, 160 cm, 50 kg. 62.992 in. IBW = 45.5 + 2.3 × 2.992 = 52.4 kg. AdjBW = 52.382 − 0.4 × 2.382 = 51.4 kg. Percent: 95%.
Other questions people ask
What is adjusted body weight?
Adjusted body weight (AdjBW or ABW) is a weight between ideal and actual body weight: the ideal weight plus 40% of the weight above it. Pharmacists use it for some drugs in people with obesity, because fat holds less of those drugs than muscle does.
What is the adjusted body weight formula?
AdjBW = IBW + 0.4 × (actual weight − IBW). IBW is the Devine ideal body weight: 50 kg for men or 45.5 kg for women, plus 2.3 kg for each inch over 5 feet.
Where does the 0.4 come from?
Bauer and others (1983) measured how aminoglycoside antibiotics spread in the body of people with morbid obesity and found that about 40% of the excess weight counted. The same factor is now used more widely, but some drugs use other factors, and the drug label or your pharmacist decides which weight to use.
Why does the calculator need a height of 5 feet or more?
The Devine formula starts at 5 feet (60 inches) and adds weight for each inch above it. It has no published line for shorter adults.