# Calculating my weight with no scales **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181 "2022-05-09T14:59:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/1 "2022-05-09T14:59:55Z")
I don’t own any scales and don’t want to buy any scales, but I have a questionnaire asking me for my weight. This doesn’t need to be super accurate but I want it to be reasonable. I was assuming there would be at least one site that would give an estimate based on height and waist size, as all I want is a reasonable estimate, but looking everywhere I can’t find one. Anybody know a site that can give me a reasonable estimate of my weight based on only things I can measure without scales? ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/2 "2022-05-09T15:08:07Z")
I can’t flag my post twice so this is a filler post ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/3 "2022-05-09T15:11:10Z")
This isn’t the answer you were asking for, but pharmacies often have scales in them (at least in some places in the world) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/4 "2022-05-09T15:12:21Z")
Alternatively, there’s this, which does seem to be what you asked for: [Waist to Height Ratio Calculator](https://www.medindia.net/patients/calculators/waist-height-ratio.asp) EDIT: Sorry, no it isn’t. It only calculates a ratio, then tells you how bad that is. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/5 "2022-05-09T15:18:21Z")
Invite various friends to the playground and use the see-saw to see where you fall among your friends whose weights, hopefully, are known to them. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/6 "2022-05-09T15:20:50Z")
Average human density is 1.01–1.03, or in that ball park anyways. Problem solved! [https://web.archive.org/web/20180831093507/http://vorga.org/20-4-305.full.pdf](https://web.archive.org/web/20180831093507/http://vorga.org/20-4-305.full.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/7 "2022-05-09T15:23:32Z")
Please extrapolate better. What site do I go to, what figure will they give me and how to I use that figure to estimate weight? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/8 "2022-05-09T15:25:43Z")
See the PDF above. That one is for males. Look up your age group in Table III and read off the density. Then make like Archimedes, or else estimate your volume based on your height. \text{mass} = \text{volume} \times \text{density} ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/9 "2022-05-09T15:26:10Z")
Is there a time in your adult life that you did know your precise weight? Find a photo of yourself from then and compare it to yourself now. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/10 "2022-05-09T15:27:13Z")
Only way I can think to do this reliably would be to submerge yourself in a tub of water and mark the level change and then do some math. But, you’d have to know the dimensions of the tub pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/11 "2022-05-09T15:27:50Z")
You can drag the bmi around until the visual is to your liking. > **[BMI Visualizer - BMIWebgl | Perceiving Systems](https://www.bmivisualizer.com/)** > > Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated using your height and weight and is approximately related to body fat percentage. Calculate your BMI and visualize your 3D body model WebGL. The weight adjusts accordingly. But man, that image seems really flattering to me. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/12 "2022-05-09T15:30:40Z")
All you need is a bathtub and an empty container of known volume. Fill the tub with water, mark the level. Immerse yourself and then mete out water (probably your toilet is within easy reach) until the level matches what it was before you were in it. The total volume of water you displaced multiplied by the density of water will be your mass (or weight depending on units). > **[Archimedes' principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes%27_principle)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Archimedes' principle (also spelled Archimedes's principle) states that the upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid, whether fully or partially, is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces. Archimedes' principle is a law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics. It was formulated by Archimedes of Syracuse. > In On Floating Bodies, Archimedes suggested that (c. 246 BC): ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/13 "2022-05-09T15:30:58Z")
No, I’ve never known my weight, or up until now any reason to care. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/14 "2022-05-09T15:32:08Z")
My comment was before you edited in the PDF. Even with the PDF it’s not a site that will calculate it for me,. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/15 "2022-05-09T15:36:06Z")
This type of post is not helpful. I’m looking for a simple site that will give a rough estimate, not looking to go throughg such a ridiculous process. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/16 "2022-05-09T15:39:25Z")
Have you never been to a doctor? Getting weighed is usually a part of the basic visit. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/17 "2022-05-09T15:39:30Z")
Yes, unfortunately it is not an auto-calculator. But a rough estimate of your volume is just 18 times the square of your height. Depending. Alternatively, estimate the weight directly using the “BMI” calculator site, it’s not going to be much simpler than that. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/18 "2022-05-09T15:40:49Z")
Haven’t seen a doctor in 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/19 "2022-05-09T15:43:52Z")
Your weight will most likely be within 10% of the average weight for you height. If you have an extraordinarily large waist size maybe add 5% more. That’s as accurate as you can estimate. Most people get an a fairly accurate weight and realize it takes a while for that to change by much and can usually estimate about 5 to 10 lbs. under their actual weight without a problem. So if you care go find some scales. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181/20 "2022-05-09T15:43:55Z")
Seconding the advice of looking for a pharmacy that has scales. And if this isn’t an option, don’t you have some friends, acquaintances or family who own bathroom scales you could use? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calculating-my-weight-with-no-scales/964181.md?page=2)