Army Body Fat Calculator
The current Army body composition standard — waist-to-height ratio under 0.55 (AD 2026-13) — plus the rescinded AR 600-9 tape test, with the exact rules cited.
Army Body Fat Calculator: with the default inputs, waist-to-height ratio is 0.485.
Measured without shoes.
Measured against the skin at belly-button level, parallel to the floor, arms at the sides.
The current waist-to-height standard is the same for everyone. Sex is used only by the rescinded tape test below.
Used only by the rescinded tape-test standard, which varied by age band.
Recorded to three decimal places and truncated, not rounded.
- Against the current Army standard
- Meets the standard — under 0.55
- Largest waist that still passes
- 38.5 in
- Waist change needed to pass
- 0 inZero if you already meet the standard.
- Rescinded tape-test body fat
- 16.5AR 600-9 circumference method. No longer an Army standard — shown for reference only.
- Rescinded tape-test maximum for your age
- 24AR 600-9 Table B-2, rescinded 1 July 2026.
- Against the rescinded tape-test standard
- Would have passed (17% vs 24% allowed)
Assumptions
- Current standard is Army Directive 2026-13 (1 July 2026): waist-to-height ratio under 0.55, waist measured at the navel in inches, ratio truncated to three decimal places rather than rounded.
- AD 2026-13 does not itself specify a rounding rule for the raw waist measurement; this calculator uses your entered value as-is for the ratio.
- The tape-test figures use AR 600-9 (2019) Table B-5 and apply that regulation's rounding: neck up to the nearest half inch, waist and hip down. Those figures are rescinded and are shown for reference only.
- The single-site abdominal-circumference equation used between June 2023 and July 2026 is deliberately not included — it is rescinded and its coefficients could not be verified against a primary army.mil source.
- A self-measurement is an estimate. It is not an official ABCP measurement, does not diagnose anything, and does not determine your status.
| Height(in) | Waist must be under(in) |
|---|---|
| 60 in | 33 in |
| 62 in | 34.1 in |
| 64 in | 35.2 in |
| 66 in | 36.3 in |
| 68 in | 37.4 in |
| 70 in | 38.5 in |
| 72 in | 39.6 in |
| 74 in | 40.7 in |
| 76 in | 41.8 in |
| 78 in | 42.9 in |
Army Directive 2026-13: a waist-to-height ratio of less than and not equal to 0.55, measured at the navel, in inches.
| Age group | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 17–20 | 20% | 30% |
| 21–27 | 22% | 32% |
| 28–39 | 24% | 34% |
| 40 and older | 26% | 36% |
AR 600-9 (16 July 2019) Table B-2. Rescinded as an Army standard on 1 July 2026 by AD 2026-13 and shown for reference only.
How this is worked out
The formula
Current standard (Army Directive 2026-13, 1 July 2026): WHtR = waist at the navel (in) ÷ height (in), truncated to three decimals Pass = WHtR < 0.550 (0.549 passes; 0.550 fails) Rescinded tape test (AR 600-9, 16 July 2019, Table B-5), inches: Men: % body fat = 86.010 × log₁₀(waist − neck) − 70.041 × log₁₀(height) + 36.76 Women: % body fat = 163.205 × log₁₀(waist + hip − neck) − 97.684 × log₁₀(height) − 78.387
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Height
- Measured without shoes.in ft, in, cm, m · from 3 to 8.5 · defaults to 5.8333
- Waist circumference at the navel
- Measured against the skin at belly-button level, parallel to the floor, arms at the sides.in in, cm · from 15 to 80 · defaults to 34
- Sex
- The current waist-to-height standard is the same for everyone. Sex is used only by the rescinded tape test below.Male · Female
- Age
- Used only by the rescinded tape-test standard, which varied by age band.from 17 to 70 · whole numbers only · defaults to 28
- Neck circumference(under More options)
- Just below the larynx. Only used for the historical tape-test estimate.in in, cm · from 8 to 30 · defaults to 15.5
- Hip circumference(under More options)
- Over the greatest protrusion of the gluteal muscles. Only used for the female tape-test estimate.in in, cm · from 20 to 80 · defaults to 39
What you get back
- Waist-to-height ratiomain answer
- Recorded to three decimal places and truncated, not rounded.
- Against the current Army standard
- Largest waist that still passes
- Waist change needed to pass
- Zero if you already meet the standard.
- Rescinded tape-test body fat
- AR 600-9 circumference method. No longer an Army standard — shown for reference only.
- Rescinded tape-test maximum for your age
- AR 600-9 Table B-2, rescinded 1 July 2026.
- Against the rescinded tape-test standard
What this assumes
- Current standard is Army Directive 2026-13 (1 July 2026): waist-to-height ratio under 0.55, waist measured at the navel in inches, ratio truncated to three decimal places rather than rounded.
- AD 2026-13 does not itself specify a rounding rule for the raw waist measurement; this calculator uses your entered value as-is for the ratio.
- The tape-test figures use AR 600-9 (2019) Table B-5 and apply that regulation's rounding: neck up to the nearest half inch, waist and hip down. Those figures are rescinded and are shown for reference only.
- The single-site abdominal-circumference equation used between June 2023 and July 2026 is deliberately not included — it is rescinded and its coefficients could not be verified against a primary army.mil source.
- A self-measurement is an estimate. It is not an official ABCP measurement, does not diagnose anything, and does not determine your status.
About this calculator
The US Army changed its body composition standard on 1 July 2026, and most calculators on the internet have not caught up. Army Directive 2026-13 made the waist-to-height ratio the sole authorised measurement: waist at the navel divided by height, both in inches, and you meet the standard if the result is under 0.55. The circumference tape test, the height and weight screening tables, and the Army Fitness Test exemption were all rescinded in the same document.
How the current standard works
Measure your waist against the skin at belly-button level, parallel to the floor, arms at your sides. Divide by your height. The Army records the answer to three decimal places and truncates rather than rounds — 0.549 passes, 0.550 fails. There is no age band, no separate figure for men and women, and no fitness-test score that exempts you. Everyone is screened at least twice a calendar year, and a failing measurement is confirmed the same duty day by a different team before a commander acts on it.
A ratio of 0.55 or greater means a flag and enrollment in the Army Body Composition Program. The directive pauses actual separations until HQDA finishes a 180-day assessment, so the threshold itself may still move.
The tape test is history — but it is shown here
Enter your neck (and, for women, hip) under More options and the calculator also runs the old AR 600-9 circumference method, with the Army's own rounding rules: neck up to the nearest half inch, waist and hip down. That method estimated a body fat percentage and compared it to a table that allowed 20–26% for men and 30–36% for women depending on age. It is here because people still search for it and because the regulation text has not been rewritten yet — AD 2026-13 gives Army G-1 two years to fold the new standard into AR 600-9, and until then the directive controls and the regulation does not.
One deliberate omission: between June 2023 and July 2026 the Army used a different, single-site equation based on abdominal circumference and body weight. It is not in this calculator, because it is rescinded and because we could not verify its coefficients against a primary source on an army.mil host. We would rather leave it out than publish arithmetic we cannot stand behind.
What this does and does not tell you
Waist-to-height ratio is a reasonable, cheap screen. It tracks central adiposity better than BMI, needs no equipment beyond a tape, and the 0.5 boundary has real epidemiological support in the general population — NICE, for example, uses "keep your waist under half your height" as public health advice. The Army's 0.55 is a policy threshold set at Department of War level, not the output of an Army validation study, and it is a screen, not a measurement of body fat.
It is also easy to get wrong at home. Tape tension, breathing, posture and where exactly you find your navel all move the number by a quarter-inch or more, which on a 70-inch frame is 0.004 of ratio. If you are near the line, measure three times, relax, and let the official measurement be the official measurement.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is the Army body fat standard now?
There is no body fat percentage standard. Since 1 July 2026, Army Directive 2026-13 makes waist-to-height ratio the only authorised measurement, and the standard is a ratio of less than and not equal to 0.55.
▸Is the Army tape test still used?
No. AD 2026-13 rescinded the circumference tape test, and it cannot even be used to challenge a waist-to-height result. The old equations are shown here for reference because AR 600-9 has not yet been rewritten.
▸Does a high Army Fitness Test score exempt me?
Not any more. The directive states plainly that no AFT score exempts a Soldier from meeting the waist-to-height standard, and it rescinded the earlier 540-point ACFT and 465-point AFT exemptions.
▸Do 0.550 and 0.549 really differ?
Yes. The Army's guidance records the ratio to three decimal places and discards everything after, without rounding, so 0.549 is a passing score and 0.550 is a failing one.
▸What happens if I fail?
A ratio of 0.55 or greater is confirmed by a second team the same duty day, then brings a flag and enrollment in the Army Body Composition Program. Separations are paused until HQDA completes a 180-day assessment.
Put this calculator on your own site
A working army body fat, free for any site, with no ads and no sign-up. It resizes to fit wherever you paste it and updates itself as this page improves.
Paste this anywhere. It works on any site, carries no ads, never expires, and always shows the current version.
Army Body Fat Calculator by CalculateItNow
The page's own title. The clearest description of what the link leads to.
The credit line sits outside the widget on purpose, so it is a real link on your page rather than one buried in a frame. Please keep it — it is what pays for CalculateItNow staying free and ad-free. The script only resizes the widget to fit its contents; drop it and the widget still works.
Browse every calculator widget·How to add it to WordPress, Squarespace or Wix
Related calculators
The questions people ask next to a army body fat.
Check your waist-to-height ratio against the NICE and Ashwell cut-offs, see the waist size that keeps you under 0.5, and learn why it predicts risk better than BMI.
Estimate body fat percentage with the US Navy tape method, cross-check it against the BMI formula, and see your fat mass, lean mass and ACE category.
Calculate your body mass index from height and weight, see your category, and find the weight range that counts as healthy for your height.
Estimate lean body mass with the Boer, James and Hume formulas, or directly from a measured body fat percentage, and see what share of your weight is lean tissue.
Compare your ideal body weight by the Devine, Robinson, Miller and Hamwi formulas and the healthy BMI range — with an honest note on where these numbers came from.