TABLE 2.

Calculating Desirable Body Weight (DBW)

	Weight for Females (lb)	Weight for Males (lb)
Initial Calculation
First 5 feet	100	106
Each inch over 5 feet	5	6
Subsequent Adjustment for Frame Size	Add 10% to DBW for large-framed individuals or subtract 10% for small-framed individuals. Frame size can be estimated by having the patient’s predominant hand grasp the other wrist and oppose the thumb and middle finger. If the two fingers meet, the patient has a medium frame (and thus no DBW adjustment is necessary). If they overlap appreciably, the patient is small framed, and if they fail to meet, the patient is large framed.
Interpretation	Patients who are ≥120% of their DBW are considered overweight/obese, whereas those <120% of their DBW are considered lean.