Broca Formula

To measure using the Broca formula, you just need to know your height. No other factors play a role.

Height in centimeters - 100 = Normal weight
Normal weight - 10% = ideal weight

The Broca formula, named after the inventor Paul Broca, a french army doctor, ist relatively easy and anyone can subtract 100 from their height in their head. Anyone who was born before 1975 will remember that this formula was commonly used in their childhood.

The ideal weight was added later. Paul Broca had to examine the military capability of young men. Obesity was not a problem then. His normal weight was therefore a lower limit. Anyone underneath it had problems with strenuous military service.

Example:

Height = 175 cm
Normal weight = 175-100 = 75 kg
Ideal weight = 75 - 10% = 67,5 kg

This formula is considered outdated today, while the BMI isn’t any younger. They both come from the 19th century.