– Waist-to-height ratio

– Estimated body fat

Enter height and waist to check the Army standard.

Body fat estimate, unrounded: Enter weight and waist at the navel.
Body fat limit before July 2026: Enter age.

Only the ratio counts now. Army Directive 2026-13 bars using a tape test or any other body fat measurement to contest it, and no Army Fitness Test score exempts you.

The current standard

Army Directive 2026-13, signed by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on July 1, 2026, replaced the weight-for-height screening table, the tape test and the supplemental body fat assessments with one measurement: waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). It covers soldiers in the Regular Army, Guard and Reserve, plus West Point and ROTC cadets.

WHtR is your waist circumference at the navel divided by your height, in the same units. The standard is a ratio under 0.55, so exactly 0.55 fails. For a 70-inch soldier that means a waist under 38.5 inches.

Every soldier is measured at least twice a calendar year, and commanders can order a measurement at any time. A failing reading is rechecked the same duty day by a different team before the commander can act. A soldier at 0.55 or above is flagged and enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program. Units can start separation paperwork, but no one will be separated until Army headquarters finishes a 180-day assessment of the new standard.

The directive follows a December 18, 2025 memo from the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness that moved every service to WHtR.

Body fat equations

Until July 2026 the Army estimated body fat from tape measurements. Army Directive 2023-11 introduced the one-site method on June 9, 2023. It needs only body weight and the abdomen at the navel, and it became the only authorized tape method on June 8, 2024. Before that, soldiers were taped at the neck and abdomen (men) or the neck, natural waist and hips (women).

One-site, men

% body fat = −26.97 − (0.12 × weight in lb) + (1.99 × abdomen in inches)

One-site, women

% body fat = −9.15 − (0.015 × weight in lb) + (1.27 × abdomen in inches)

Neck-based, men

% body fat = 86.010 × log10(abdomen − neck) − 70.041 × log10(height) + 36.76

Neck-based, women

% body fat = 163.205 × log10(waist + hip − neck) − 97.684 × log10(height) − 78.387

Each tape reading was rounded to the half inch: down for the abdomen, waist and hips, up for the neck. Three readings were averaged, with a fourth taken if one was more than an inch off. The calculator treats each number you enter as a single reading and rounds it the same way. Weight is rounded to the nearest pound and the result to the nearest whole percent. In the Army's worked example, a 210 lb man with a 35-inch abdomen comes out at 17.48%, recorded as 17%.

Both equations read low. In 1,904 active-duty soldiers measured in 2021 and 2022, the one-site equation came in 2.6 percentage points below DXA scans on average and the neck-based equation 4.4 points below (McClung et al., 2025).

Body fat limits before July 2026

AR 600-9 capped body fat by age and sex (Table B-2). The calculator compares your estimate with these limits.

Age group	Men	Women
17–20	20%	30%
21–27	22%	32%
28–39	24%	34%
40 and over	26%	36%

Soldiers were taped only if they weighed more than the screening weight for their height and age in Table B-1, or if a commander ordered it. For the lookup, height was rounded to the nearest inch (half an inch rounds up) and weight to the nearest pound.

Weight-for-height screening table (Table B-1)

Men

Height	Min	17–20	21–27	28–39	40+
4′10″ 58	91	–	–	–	–
4′11″ 59	94	–	–	–	–
5′0″ 60	97	132	136	139	141
5′1″ 61	100	136	140	144	146
5′2″ 62	104	141	144	148	150
5′3″ 63	107	145	149	153	155
5′4″ 64	110	150	154	158	160
5′5″ 65	114	155	159	163	165
5′6″ 66	117	160	163	168	170
5′7″ 67	121	165	169	174	176
5′8″ 68	125	170	174	179	181
5′9″ 69	128	175	179	184	186
5′10″ 70	132	180	185	189	192
5′11″ 71	136	185	189	194	197
6′0″ 72	140	190	195	200	203
6′1″ 73	144	195	200	205	208
6′2″ 74	148	201	206	211	214
6′3″ 75	152	206	212	217	220
6′4″ 76	156	212	217	223	226
6′5″ 77	160	218	223	229	232
6′6″ 78	164	223	229	235	238
6′7″ 79	168	229	235	241	244
6′8″ 80	173	234	240	247	250

Women

Height	Min	17–20	21–27	28–39	40+
4′10″ 58	91	119	121	122	124
4′11″ 59	94	124	125	126	128
5′0″ 60	97	128	129	131	133
5′1″ 61	100	132	134	135	137
5′2″ 62	104	136	138	140	142
5′3″ 63	107	141	143	144	146
5′4″ 64	110	145	147	149	151
5′5″ 65	114	150	152	154	156
5′6″ 66	117	155	156	158	161
5′7″ 67	121	159	161	163	166
5′8″ 68	125	164	166	168	171
5′9″ 69	128	169	171	173	176
5′10″ 70	132	174	176	178	181
5′11″ 71	136	179	181	183	186
6′0″ 72	140	184	186	188	191
6′1″ 73	144	189	191	194	197
6′2″ 74	148	194	197	199	202
6′3″ 75	152	200	202	204	208
6′4″ 76	156	205	207	210	213
6′5″ 77	160	210	213	215	219
6′6″ 78	164	216	218	221	225
6′7″ 79	168	221	224	227	230
6′8″ 80	173	227	230	233	236

Weights in pounds; the small number after each height is the height in inches. Age columns are in years. Soldiers under the minimum weight were referred for a medical evaluation. Above 80 inches, add 6 lb per inch for men and 5 lb per inch for women.

Sources

Army Directive 2026-13 (Army Body Composition Program and Standards). Secretary of the Army, July 1, 2026. Makes a WHtR under 0.55 the only standard, drops the screening tables and rescinds Army Directives 2023-08, 2023-11 and 2025-17.
Army modifies body composition program, adopts waist-to-height ratio. U.S. Army, July 7, 2026.
Army Updates Body Composition Policy. Association of the United States Army, July 22, 2026.
Additional Guidance on Military Fitness Standards. Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness, December 18, 2025.
ALARACT 032/2025: Notification of New Army Body Fat Assessment for the Army Body Composition Program. HQDA DCS G-1, March 2025. Has the one-site equations, the worked example, the tape procedure and Tables B-1 and B-2.
AR 600-9, The Army Body Composition Program. Department of the Army, July 16, 2019, with a February 2025 administrative revision. Appendix B has the neck-based tape procedure and rounding rules.
DA Form 5500, Body Fat Content Worksheet (Male). The pre-July 2026 version, which printed the one-site equation for men.
ABCP Body Fat Calculator. Army Resilience Directorate. Used to cross-check this page's one-site results.
McClung HL, et al. Implementing a modern circumference-based body fat equation with a physical fitness threshold is associated with lower musculoskeletal injury risk. International Journal of Obesity, 2025. Compares the one-site and neck-based equations with DXA in 1,904 active-duty soldiers.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Army or the Department of War. Official measurements are taken by unit personnel. Not medical advice.