What does "ideal weight" mean at 5'8"?
At a height of 5'8" (173 cm), the four most widely used ideal-body-weight formulas converge on roughly 68.4 kg for men and 63.6 kg for women. These formulas — Robinson, Miller, Devine and Hamwi — were originally created to help clinicians calculate medication doses, so they return one tidy reference figure based purely on height.
In real life, a healthy weight is a range, not a single target. The WHO and NHS define a healthy weight as a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9, which at 5'8" works out to 55.4–74.5 kg (8 st 10 lb to 11 st 10 lb). If your weight sits anywhere in that band, you are at a healthy weight for your height — the "ideal" figures simply mark a point near the middle.
Because these formulas ignore muscle mass, frame size and age, treat them as a starting point. If you train with weights or have a larger frame, you may be perfectly healthy slightly above these numbers. Pair the figure with a body fat percentage check and a waist measurement (aim for under half your height) for a more complete view.
How to use these numbers
- Check your actual BMI for 5'8" with our free BMI calculator.
- Want a specific target instead? Use the reverse BMI calculator to find the weight for any goal BMI.
- Need a personalised figure with gender and frame size? Try the full ideal weight calculator.
- Working out a daily calorie target to reach this weight? See the calorie calculator.