Army Body Fat Calculator

There is no body fat percentage any more. This army body fat calculator works out the one number the Army now measures: your waist at the navel divided by your height. Under 0.550 meets the standard.

Army Directive 2026-13 took effect on 7 July 2026 and rescinded the circumference tape test, the height and weight tables, and every other body fat method the Army used. Nothing replaced them except this ratio.

Army waist to height ratio: how it is worked out

The army waist to height ratio has a procedure, and DA Form 5500 spells it out in three steps. Most calculators skip the first two.

Step one. Your waist is measured at the navel, three times. Each reading is rounded down to the nearest half inch. Rounding down helps you.

Step two. The three readings are averaged to three decimal places.

Step three. That average is divided by your height, and the result is cut off at three decimals. Not rounded. Cut off.

The form gives its own example: a result of 0.549888 is recorded as 0.549, and 0.549 meets the standard. Round that same figure and you get 0.550, which does not. Two identical sets of measurements, two different careers, depending on whether the tool cut or rounded.

The calculator above shows all three steps as you type, so you can see what your unit will write on the form.

What is the maximum waist for my height?

Multiply your height in inches by 0.55, then step back to the nearest half inch below it. The tool does this for you and prints the number.

Be careful with the figure you see quoted elsewhere. Several sites publish 38.5 inches as the maximum passing waist at 70 inches tall. It is not. 38.5 divided by 70 is exactly 0.550, and the standard is less than 0.550, not equal to it. That waist fails.

Army height and weight standards no longer exist

If you came looking for the army height and weight standards chart, there is not one. The screening tables were rescinded outright. So was the tape test, so was DA Form 5501, and so was the option to ask for a second method.

That last point matters. Under the old system a soldier who failed the weight screen got taped, and the tape could save them. There is no second step now. WHtR is the sole authorised assessment, and you cannot request a tape test, a DXA scan or any other measurement to challenge the result.

Does a high AFT score still exempt me?

No. The exemption for soldiers scoring 465 or higher was rescinded along with AD 2025-17. Paragraph 5a(7) of the directive says plainly that no AFT score exempts a soldier from the WHtR standard.

A large share of the calculators currently ranking for this query still tell soldiers otherwise. Check the date on any page that mentions 465.

What happens if you miss the standard

A confirmation measurement comes first. If your initial reading is 0.550 or higher, a different team measures you again on the same duty day. That has to happen before your commander takes any action, and it exists because tape placement moves a reading.

If the second reading also misses, you are flagged under code K and enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program. Flag code K is non-transferable, so it follows you to a new unit.

You stay enrolled until you meet the standard. The old monthly assessment requirement and the progression rules are gone, so your commander decides when to measure you again and removes you from the programme as soon as you pass.

Units may start separation actions, but no soldier will be separated for a WHtR failure until HQDA finishes a 180-day assessment of the new standard and issues further guidance.

What if there is a medical reason?

Regular Army and AGR soldiers enrolled in the ABCP get a commander-directed medical exam to check whether an underlying condition explains it. Reserve Component soldiers can request one, at their own expense if they are not on active duty. Existing exemptions for pregnant and postpartum soldiers still apply.

When you get measured

Twice per calendar year, minimum. Your commander can also direct a measurement at any time if they think you do not meet the standard.

There is one timing rule worth knowing by paragraph number. Commanders have to allow at least seven days between your AFT or CFT and your WHtR screening, so one does not affect the other. That is paragraph 5a(6). If you are told to report for a tape the morning after a record test, that is the line to cite.

Results are recorded on DA Form 5500 and entered into ATIS by your leadership using the Leader Tool. Every soldier needed one on record within 90 days of the directive.

The standard applies to the Regular Army, the National Guard and the Army Reserve, and to USMA and Senior ROTC cadets.

Questions soldiers ask

What is the Army body fat standard for 2026?

There is no body fat percentage standard. The standard is a waist-to-height ratio of less than 0.550, measured at the navel and divided by height in inches.

Is 0.55 a pass?

No. The standard is less than and not equal to 0.55. A recorded 0.550 fails. A recorded 0.549 passes.

Is the Army tape test gone?

Yes. The circumference tape test, the height and weight tables and all other body fat assessments were rescinded on 7 July 2026 and cannot be used to challenge a WHtR result.

Which form records it?

DA Form 5500, July 2026 edition. DA Form 5501 is rescinded.

Do National Guard and Reserve soldiers meet the same number?

Yes. One threshold for every component, and for USMA and Senior ROTC cadets.