Human body weight

Human body weight is a person's mass or weight.

Strictly speaking, body weight is the measurement of weight without items located on the person. Practically though, body weight may be measured with clothes on, but without shoes or heavy accessories such as mobile phones and wallets, and using manual or digital weighing scales. Excess or reduced body weight is regarded as an indicator of determining a person's health, with body volume measurement providing an extra dimension by calculating the distribution of body weight.

Average adult human weight varies by continent, from about 60 kg (130 lb) in Asia and Africa to about 80 kg (180 lb) in North America, with men on average weighing more than women.

Estimation in children

An example of a half unfolded Broselow tape

There are a number of methods to estimate weight in children for circumstances (such as emergencies) when actual weight cannot be measured. Most involve a parent or health care provider guessing the child's weight through weight-estimation formulas. These formulas base their findings on the child's age and tape-based systems of weight estimation. Of the many formulas that have been used for estimating body weight, some include the Advanced Pediatric Life Support formula, the Leffler formula, and Theron formula. There are also several types of tape-based systems for estimating children's weight, with the most well-known being the Broselow tape. The Broselow tape is based on length with weight read from the appropriate color area. Newer systems, such as the PAWPER tape, make use of a simple two-step process to estimate weight: the length-based weight estimation is modified according to the child's body habitus to increase the accuracy of the final weight prediction.

The Leffler formula is used for children 0–10 years of age. In those less than a year old, it is

${\displaystyle m={\tfrac {1}{2}}a_{m}+4}$

and for those 1–10 years old, it is

${\displaystyle m=2a_{y}+10}$

where m is the number of kilograms the child weighs and a_m and a_y respectively are the number of months or years old the child is.

The Theron formula is

${\displaystyle m=e^{0.175571a_{y}+2.197099}}$

where m and a_y are as above.

Fluctuation

Body weight varies throughout the day, as the amount of water in the body is not constant. It changes frequently due to activities such as drinking, urinating, or exercise. Professional sports participants may deliberately dehydrate themselves to enter a lower weight class, a practice known as weight cutting.

Ideal body weight

Ideal body weight (IBW) was initially introduced by Ben J. Devine in 1974 to allow estimation of drug clearances in obese patients; researchers have since shown that the metabolism of certain drugs relates more to IBW than total body weight. The term was based on the use of insurance data that demonstrated the relative mortality for males and females according to different height-weight combinations.

The most common estimation of IBW is by the Devine formula; other models exist and have been noted to give similar results. Other methods used in estimating the ideal body weight are body mass index and the Hamwi method. The IBW is not the perfect fat measurement, as it does not show the fat or muscle percentage in one's body. For example, athletes' results may show that they are overweight when they are actually very fit and healthy. Machines like the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry can accurately measure the percentage and weight of fat, muscle, and bone in a body.

Devine formula

The Devine formula for calculating ideal body weight in adults is as follows:

• Male ideal body weight = 50 kilograms (110 lb) + 0.9 kilograms (2.0 lb) × (height (cm) − 152)
• Female ideal body weight = 45.5 kilograms (100 lb) + 0.9 kilograms (2.0 lb) × (height (cm) − 152)

Hamwi method

The Hamwi method is used to calculate the ideal body weight of the general adult:

• Male ideal body weight = 48 kilograms (106 lb) + 1.1 kilograms (2.4 lb) × (height (cm) − 152)
• Female ideal body weight = 45.4 kilograms (100 lb) + 0.9 kilograms (2.0 lb) × (height (cm) − 152)

Usage

Sports

Participants in sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, rowing, judo, sambo, Olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting are classified according to their body weight, measured in units of mass such as pounds or kilograms. See, e.g., wrestling weight classes, boxing weight classes, judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Medicine

Ideal body weight, specifically the Devine formula, is used clinically for multiple reasons, most commonly in estimating renal function in drug dosing, and predicting pharmacokinetics in morbidly obese patients.

Average weight around the world

By region

Data from 2005:

By country

Country	Average male weight	Average female weight	Sample population / age range	Methodology	Year	Source
Afghanistan	69.2 kg (152.6 lb)	62.6 kg (138.0 lb)	18–69	Measured	2018
Algeria	68.7 kg (151.5 lb)	65.1 kg (143.5 lb)	25–64	Measured	2005
Armenia	74.6 kg (164.5 lb)	66.4 kg (146.4 lb)	18–69	Measured	2016
Australia	87.0 kg (191.8 lb)	71.8 kg (158.3 lb)	18+	Measured	2018
Azerbaijan	72.1 kg (159.0 lb)	65.7 kg (144.8 lb)	16+	Measured	2005
Bangladesh	55.2 kg (121.7 lb)	49.8 kg (109.8 lb)	25+	Measured	2009–2010
Belarus	69 kg (152.1 lb)	56 kg (123.5 lb)	18+	Measured	2008
Belize	74.2 kg (163.6 lb)	70.5 kg (155.4 lb)	20+	Measured	2010
Benin	63.7 kg (140.4 lb)	60.9 kg (134.3 lb)	18–69	Measured	2015
Bhutan	63.2 kg (139.3 lb)	57.4 kg (126.5 lb)	18–69	Measured	2014
Botswana	63.6 kg (140.2 lb)	64.3 kg (141.8 lb)	15–69	Measured	2014
Brazil	72.7 kg (160.3 lb)	62.5 kg (137.8 lb)	20–74	Measured	2008–2009
Brunei	74.1 kg (163.4 lb)	62.9 kg (138.7 lb)	19+	Measured	2010–2011
Bulgaria	81.0 kg (178.6 lb)	67.0 kg (147.7 lb)	15+	Self-reported	2014
Burkina Faso	65.2 kg (143.7 lb)	59.0 kg (130.1 lb)	25–64	Measured	2013
Cambodia	56.8 kg (125.2 lb)	50.8 kg (112.0 lb)	25–64	Measured	2010
Cameroon	68.3 kg (150.6 lb)	67.0 kg (147.7 lb)	15+	Measured	2003
Canada	84.6 kg (187 lb)	70.1 kg (155 lb)	18–79	Measured	2007–2009
Chile	77.3 kg (170.4 lb)	67.5 kg (148.8 lb)	15+	Measured	2009–2010
China	77.7 kg (171.3 lb)	59.5 kg (131.2 lb)	18–69	Measured	2014
Costa Rica - San José	76.6 kg (168.9 lb)	64.9 kg (143.1 lb)	20+	Measured	2010
Czech Republic	92.1 kg (203.0 lb)	73.8 kg (162.7 lb)	25–64	Measured	2016–2017
Estonia	84.4 kg (186.1 lb)	71.2 kg (157.0 lb)	18+	Measured	2003–2010
France	77.1 kg (170 lb)	62.7 kg (138 lb)	15+	Measured	2005
Georgia	84.4 kg (186.1 lb)	73.6 kg (162.3 lb)	18–69	Measured	2016
Germany	85.9 kg (189.4 lb)	69.2 kg (152.6 lb)	18+	Self-reported	2021
India	65.0 kg (143.3 lb)	55.0 kg (121.3 lb)	16+	Measured	2020
Norway	86.6 kg (190.9 lb)	71.6 kg (157.9 lb)	18+	Self-reported	2020
Oman	74.9 kg (165.1 lb)	68.1 kg (150.1 lb)	18+	Measured	2017
Pakistan	66.0 kg (145.5 lb)	59.0 kg (130.1 lb)	18–69	Measured	2013–2014
Papua New Guinea	62.5 kg (137.8 lb)	56.8 kg (125.2 lb)	15–64	Measured	2007–2008
Qatar	84.6 kg (186.5 lb)	73.4 kg (161.8 lb)	18–64	Measured	2012
Russia	70.6 kg (155.6 lb)	60.2 kg (132.7 lb)	19+	Measured	2018
Rwanda	58.4 kg (128.7 lb)	55.9 kg (123.2 lb)	15–64	Measured	2012–2013
Saint Kitts and Nevis	84.5 kg (186.3 lb)	83.0 kg (183.0 lb)	25–64	Measured	2007–2008
Saudi Arabia	77.3 kg (170.4 lb)	71.7 kg (158.1 lb)	25–64	Measured	2005
Serbia	84.6 kg (186.5 lb)	70.0 kg (154.3 lb)	20+	Measured	2013
Sierra Leone	62.0 kg (136.7 lb)	59.0 kg (130.1 lb)	25–64	Measured	2009
Solomon Islands	75.3 kg (166.0 lb)	70.4 kg (155.2 lb)	25–64	Measured	2006
South Korea	73.34 kg (161.7 lb)	58.29 kg (128.5 lb)	18+	Measured	2019
Spain	82.4 kg (181.7 lb)	66.6 kg (146.8 lb)	18–64	Measured	2013
Sri Lanka	61.4 kg (135.4 lb)	54.6 kg (120.4 lb)	18–69	Measured	2014–2015
Sudan	65.4 kg (144.2 lb)	61.6 kg (135.8 lb)	18–69	Measured	2016
Sweden	81.9 kg (180.6 lb)	66.7 kg (147.0 lb)	16–84	Measured	2003–2004
Togo	63.2 kg (139.3 lb)	60.0 kg (132.3 lb)	15–64	Measured	2010
Tonga	99.4 kg (219.1 lb)	97.7 kg (215.4 lb)	25–64	Measured	2012
Trinidad and Tobago	76.7 kg (169.1 lb)	71.1 kg (156.7 lb)	15–64	Measured	2011
Turkey	78.0 kg (172.0 lb)	70.1 kg (154.5 lb)	15+	Measured	2017
Turkmenistan	76.6 kg (168.9 lb)	67.4 kg (148.6 lb)	18–69	Measured	2018
United Kingdom – England	85.4 kg (188.3 lb)	72.1 kg (159.0 lb)	16+	Measured	2019
United Kingdom – Wales	84.0 kg (185.2 lb)	69.0 kg (152.1 lb)	16+	Measured	2009
Ukraine	80.0 kg (176.4 lb)	71.0 kg (156.5 lb)	18+	Measured	2020
United States	90.6 kg (199.7 lb)	77.5 kg (170.9 lb)	20+	Measured	2015–2018

Global statistics

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study of average weights of adult humans in the journal BMC Public Health and at the United Nations conference Rio+20.

See also

External links

• Media related to Human body weight at Wikimedia Commons
• Online calculator for Hamwi method