Ideal Weight Calculator UAE: What Should You Weigh?
"What should I weigh?" is a question almost everyone asks at some point, and the honest answer is more nuanced than a single magic number. Your ideal weight depends on your height, your frame size, your muscle mass and your personal goals—and it is better thought of as a healthy range than a fixed target. This UAE guide explains how ideal weight is estimated, what the common formulas tell you, why the number on the scale is only part of the story, and how to set a target weight that actually makes sense for you.
Find your range with the ideal weight calculator above, then read on.
What is "ideal weight"?
Ideal weight is an estimate of the body weight associated with the best health outcomes for a person of a given height and build. Historically, it was used by doctors and insurers to flag weights linked to higher health risk. Today it serves as a useful reference point—a sensible ballpark for where a healthy weight is likely to sit—rather than a precise prescription.
The crucial thing to understand is that "ideal" does not mean a single number you must hit. Two people of the same height can both be perfectly healthy at weights several kilograms apart, depending on their muscle mass and frame. Ideal weight is best read as a range.
How is ideal weight calculated?
Several formulas estimate ideal weight from height, sometimes adjusted for sex and frame. The calculator above combines these for a reliable range.
The common formulas
The most widely used equations—such as the Devine, Robinson and Miller formulas—all work in a similar way: they set a baseline weight for a given height and add a fixed amount per centimetre above that baseline, with different figures for men and women. They produce slightly different numbers, which is why presenting a range across the formulas is more honest than quoting one.
Adjusting for frame size
Your skeletal frame matters. Someone with a large, broad frame will sit healthily at a higher weight than someone of identical height with a slight frame. A simple wrist measurement helps classify your frame as small, medium or large, and the calculator can factor this in. This is why the same height can map to quite different healthy weights.
A worked example
A man who is 178 cm tall will typically see an ideal weight range from the common formulas of roughly 68 to 75 kg, shifting up or down with his frame size and muscularity. The calculator shows the range so you can see where a sensible target lies rather than fixating on one figure.
Why ideal weight is only part of the picture
Like BMI, ideal weight formulas were designed before body composition was easy to measure, and they share the same blind spot: they cannot tell muscle from fat. A muscular person may weigh well above their "ideal" figure while carrying very little fat and being extremely healthy. A sedentary person may sit within their ideal range while carrying too much fat and too little muscle—the "skinny fat" situation.
This is why ideal weight should never be used in isolation. Read it alongside your body fat percentage and your waist measurement for a far more meaningful picture of your health. The scale is one data point, not the whole story.
How to set a sensible target weight
Rather than chasing a formula's exact output, set a target that reflects your goals and your body.
If you want to lose fat
Use your ideal weight range as a rough destination, but judge progress by how you look, how your clothes fit and your body fat percentage—not the scale alone. As you lose fat and possibly build a little muscle, the scale may move slowly even as your shape transforms. Our goal weight calculator helps map the journey.
If you train for muscle
Accept that your healthy weight may sit above the formula's "ideal." Muscle is dense and heavy, and a lean, muscular physique often weighs more than the charts suggest. Here, body composition matters far more than the number.
If you want general health
Aiming to sit within your ideal weight range, with a healthy waist measurement and reasonable body fat, is a sound, simple goal that covers the health bases without obsessing over a single figure.
Ideal weight in the UAE context
In a region where lifestyle factors can quietly add body fat, an ideal weight range is a helpful sanity check—a reminder of roughly where a healthy weight sits for your height. But it is most useful when paired with body composition measures, because the "skinny fat" pattern (a normal weight masking high fat and low muscle) is common among those with sedentary, indoor lifestyles. The UAE's strong gym culture makes building the muscle that improves your composition—and shifts what a healthy weight means for you—readily achievable.