Ideal Body Weight (Devine)

The Devine formula gives a quick estimate of a man's ideal body weight from height alone, using a baseline weight at 5 feet tall and adding a fixed amount for each extra inch. It was developed as a practical clinical rule of thumb, especially for medication dosing and nutrition planning, not as a perfect measure of health. Because it is based on average body proportions, it works best as a rough reference for adults and becomes less reliable for very muscular, very lean, or very short/tall individuals.

Use this formula when you need a fast estimated target weight for an adult male, such as in clinical calculations, fitness planning, or checking whether a current weight is far above or below a typical reference point. It is useful when height is known in inches and you want a simple benchmark rather than a full body-composition assessment.

• Forgetting that height must be in inches, not feet or centimeters
• Using the formula for women instead of the male version
• Treating the result as a healthy target for everyone rather than an estimate