Human body weight

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

Strictly speaking, body weight is the measurement of mass 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.

Estimation in children

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 best-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

and for those 1–10 years old, it is

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

The Theron formula is

where m and ay are as above.

Fluctuation Body weight varies in small amounts throughout the day, as the amount of water in the body is not constant. It changes 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 = + × (height (cm) − 152) Female ideal body weight = + × (height (cm) − 152)

Hamwi method The Hamwi method is used to calculate the ideal body weight of the general adult: Male ideal body weight = + × (height (cm) − 152) Female ideal body weight = + × (height (cm) − 152)

Usage Sports Many disciplines in weightlifting or combat sports separate competitors into weight classes.

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:

RegionAdult population(millions)Average weight % Overweight Africa 535 28.9% Asia 2,815 24.2% Europe 606 55.6% Latin America and the Caribbean 386 57.9% North America 263 73.9% Oceania 24 63.3% World 4,630 34.7%

By country

CountryAverage male weightAverage female weightSample population / age range Year 18–69 Measured 2018 25–64 Measured 2005 18–69 Measured 2016 18+ Measured 2018 16+ Measured 2005 25+ Measured 2009–2010 18+ Measured 2008 20+ Measured 2010 18–69 Measured 2015 18–69 Measured 2014 15–69 Measured 2014 20–74 Measured 2008–2009 19+ Measured 2010–2011 21–59 Self-reported 2021 25–64 Measured 2013 25–64 Measured 2010 15+ Measured 2003 18–79 Measured 2007–2009 15+ Measured 2009–2010 Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2009–2010 (p. 81)18-80Measured2022 - San José 20+ Measured 2010 25–64 Measured 2016–2017 18+ Measured 2003–2010 15+ Measured 2005 18–69 Measured 2016 18+ Self-reported 2021 16+ Measured 2020 20+Measured2019 18+ Self-reported 2020 18+ Measured 2017 18–69 Measured 2013–2014 15–64 Measured 2007–2008 18–64 Measured 2012 19+ Measured 2018 15–64 Measured 2012–2013 25–64 Measured 2007–2008 25–64 Measured 2005 20+ Measured 2013 25–64 Measured 2009 21+Measured2021 25–64 Measured 2006 18+ Measured 2019 18–64 Measured 2013 18–69 Measured 2014–2015 18–69 Measured 2016 16–84 Measured 2003–2004 15–64 Measured 2010 25–64 Measured 2012 15–64 Measured 2011 15+ Measured 2017 18–69 Measured 2018 – England 16+ Measured 2019 – Wales 16+ Measured 2009 18+ Measured 2020 20+ Measured 2021–2023

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.Data extracted from Rank Country Kilograms Pounds Relative size 1 Micronesia 87.398 2 Tonga 87.344 3 United States 81.928 4 Samoa 78.544 5 Kuwait 77.791 6 Australia 77.356 7 Malta 76.956 8 Qatar 76.866 9 Croatia 76.412 10 United Kingdom 75.795 11 UAE 75.532 12 Greece 75.038 13 Cyprus 74.802 14 Egypt 74.271 15 Barbados 73.831 16 Belarus 73.663 17 Bahrain 73.550 18 Germany 73.042 19 Solomon Islands 72.797 20 Austria 72.743 21 Saudi Arabia 72.638 22 Iceland 72.584 23 Trinidad & Tobago 72.538 24 Argentina 72.434 25 Bahamas 72.380 26 Finland 72.348 27 Israel 71.912 28 Czech Rep. 71.640 29 New Zealand 71.631 30 Bulgaria 71.459 31 Russia 71.418 32 Slovenia 71.200 33 Slovakia 71.060 34 Albania 71.019 35 Bosnia 71.001 36 Switzerland 70.987 37 Rep. of Moldova 70.978 38 Venezuela 70.788 39 Chile 70.593 40 Georgia 70.561 41 Spain 70.556 42 Azerbaijan 70.484 43 Hungary 70.443 44 Libya 70.429 45 Luxembourg 70.270 46 Tajikistan 70.234 47 Portugal 70.193 48 Lithuania 70.153 49 Grenada 70.139 50 Panama 69.939 51 Ireland 69.926 52 Canada 69.767 53 Jordan 69.649 54 St Vincent & Grenadines 69.590 55 Belize 69.377 56 Poland 69.241 57 Macedonia 69.209 58 Italy 69.205 59 Jamaica 69.064 60 Sweden 69.064 61 Turkey 69.046 62 Cuba 69.037 63 Mexico 69.023 64 Mongolia 68.910 65 Uruguay 68.873 66 Belgium 68.801 67 Suriname 68.778 68 Latvia 68.778 69 Norway 68.774 70 Netherlands 68.746 71 Ukraine 68.674 72 Guatemala 68.579 73 Saint Lucia 68.438 74 Armenia 68.424 75 Nicaragua 68.415 76 Vanuatu 68.229 77 El Salvador 68.220 78 Lebanon 68.170 79 Ecuador 68.166 80 Fiji 68.048 81 Bolivia 68.034 82 Dominican Rep. 67.993 83 Denmark 67.957 84 Costa Rica 67.853 85 Tunisia 67.726 86 Iran 67.608 87 Turkmenistan 67.563 88 Paraguay 67.445 89 Peru 67.440 90 Syria 67.422 91 Guyana 67.032 92 France 66.782 93 Estonia 66.732 94 Equatorial Guinea 66.451 95 Romania 66.401 96 Colombia 66.370 97 Uzbekistan 66.351 98 Kazakhstan 66.265 99 Brazil 66.093 100 Mauritius 66.052 101 Iraq 66.034 102 Lesotho 65.966 103 Honduras 65.834 104 Oman 65.803 105 South Africa 65.667 106 Kyrgyzstan 65.413 107 Botswana 65.045 108 Cameroon 64.832 109 Morocco 64.764 110 South Korea 64.392 111 Mauritania 64.179 112 Algeria 63.639 113 Gabon 62.845 114 Ghana 62.491 115 Cape Verde 62.296 116 Papua New Guinea 62.251 117 Eswatini 62.097 118 Djibouti 62.015 119 Haiti 61.698 120 Comoros 61.044 121 Zimbabwe 61.022 122 Brunei 60.945 123 Sierra Leone 60.854 124 Nigeria 60.745 125 Malaysia 60.682 126 China 60.555 127 Angola 60.387 128 Senegal 60.373 129 Benin 60.282 130 Mali 60.078 131 Yemen 59.802 132 Philippines 59.715 133 Namibia 59.584 134 Sudan 59.407 135 Togo 59.280 136 Guinea 59.112 137 Japan 59.017 138 Pakistan 58.976 139 Singapore 58.935 140 Thailand 58.786 141 Côte d'Ivoire 58.727 142 Laos 58.436 143 Chad 58.196 144 Niger 57.933 145 Maldives 57.647 146 São Tomé and Príncipe 57.561 147 Burkina Faso 57.456 148 Congo 57.384 149 Tanzania 57.293 150 Gambia 57.071 151 Uganda 57.007 152 Afghanistan 56.935 153 Malawi 56.681 154 Rwanda 56.635 155 Myanmar 56.354 156 Kenya 56.264 157 Guinea-Bissau 56.087 158 Mozambique 55.955 159 Central African Rep. 55.946 160 Zambia 55.910 161 Cambodia 55.742 162 Liberia 55.533 163 Somalia 55.375 164 Madagascar 55.157 165 Burundi 54.127 166 Congo 53.501 167 Ethiopia 53.057 168 India 52.943 169 North Korea 52.589 170 Indonesia 52.467 171 Eritrea 52.041 172 Timor-Leste 51.950 173 Bhutan 51.142 174 Vietnam 50.725 175 Nepal 50.476 176 Sri Lanka 50.421 177 Bangladesh 49.591 — world average 61.997 '''

Human body weight

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