Weight for Target BMI Calculator

About this calculator

This calculator inverts the standard BMI formula (BMI = weight in kg divided by height in meters squared) to solve for weight instead: Target Weight = Target BMI x Height (m) squared. Rather than calculating the BMI a given weight produces, it works backward from the BMI you’re aiming for to tell you the weight that gets you there at your specific height.

People setting a weight goal often think in terms of a BMI category — landing in the normal range of 18.5-24.9, for example — but BMI on its own doesn’t translate directly into a number on the scale without doing the algebra, and height changes that number substantially: the same target BMI of 22 corresponds to very different weights for someone 160 cm tall versus someone 185 cm tall. Clinicians and dietitians use this reverse calculation to set concrete weight targets during counseling, since a BMI target alone is harder for a patient to act on than a specific kilogram figure.

This calculator takes your height and target BMI and returns the exact body weight that would produce that BMI.