US Army Body Fat Calculator

What the Army checks

Since 7 July 2026, Army Directive 2026-13 makes the waist-to-height ratio the only authorised body composition assessment. Your waist at the navel is divided by your height, both in inches, and the result must be less than 0.55. The height and weight screening tables, the one-site and multi-site tape tests and supplemental body fat assessments were all rescinded, and soldiers can't use a tape test or any other body fat method to challenge the result.

The formula

Waist-to-height ratio = waist at the navel ÷ height, recorded to 3 decimals by dropping any further digits. Meets the standard if less than 0.55.

The ratio is not rounded: 0.5499 is recorded as 0.549 and passes, while 0.550 fails. Because inches cancel out, you can use centimetres for both and get the same ratio. The largest waist that meets the standard is anything under 0.55 × your height.

Worked example

A soldier 5 ft 10 in (70 in) tall with a 34.5 in waist at the navel. 34.5 ÷ 70 = 0.492857…, recorded as 0.492. That's less than 0.55, so it meets the standard. The waist must stay under 0.55 × 70 = 38.5 in, so there's 38.5 − 34.5 = 4.0 in to spare. A 38.5 in waist would give exactly 0.550 and fail.

If you're over 0.55

• A failing first measurement is taken again the same duty day by a different team.
• If it's still 0.55 or more, the soldier is flagged and enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program (ABCP).
• Soldiers are measured at least twice a calendar year, with at least 7 days between an AFT or CFT and a waist-to-height measurement.
• No separations will happen until a 180-day HQDA assessment of the new standard ends.
• The 2025 rule exempting soldiers who scored 465 or more on the AFT was rescinded: no AFT score exempts a soldier.

Old rules, for reference

Advanced shows how you'd have come out under the rescinded methods. They don't affect your result.

One-site tape (2023–2026), men: body fat % = −26.97 − 0.12 × weight in lb + 1.99 × abdomen in inches; women: −9.15 − 0.015 × weight + 1.27 × abdomen

Multi-site tape (before 2023), men: 86.010 × log10(abdomen − neck) − 70.041 × log10(height) + 36.76; women: 163.205 × log10(waist + hip − neck) − 97.684 × log10(height) − 78.387

For the example soldier, a 25-year-old man weighing 180 lb with a 16 in neck: one-site −26.97 − 21.6 + 68.655 = 20.1%; multi-site 16.5%. Both were under the old 22% maximum for his age. The tape results were shown as whole percentages; we round halves up.

Old screening weight table (historical, from AR 600-9 (2013))

Before July 2026 soldiers were weighed first, and anyone over the maximum for their height and age had the tape test. This table is historical and given only for reference; it is no longer used.

Height rounded to the nearest inch. A dash means no figure is given.

Its limits

• This is a guide to the published rule, not an official Army measurement. Your unit's measurement is the one that counts.
• Where the tape sits changes the result. Keep it level with the navel and snug, not tight.

Sources, checked 11 October 2026: Army Directive 2026-13, Army ABCP FAQ and Army news, 7 July 2026. Old rules: AR 600-9 and the 2023 one-site tape.

General information, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or dietitian before changing how you eat or train.