Army Body Fat Calculator
Estimate body fat with the US Army’s one-site tape equation, from weight and the abdomen measured at the navel.
Result
Enter body weight and abdominal circumference at the navel to see the result.
https://calcgallery.com/body-composition/army-body-fat-calculator/
How to use the Army Body Fat Calculator
- Choose the equation. The Army publishes one for men and one for women, and the selection is the equation applied, not a statement about you.
- Enter body weight and the circumference of the abdomen measured level with the navel.
- Read the estimate. The page reports the number only, with no Army standard and no pass or fail.
The equations
The Army prints the one-site equations on its body fat worksheets, DA Form 5500 for men and DA Form 5501 for women, in pounds and inches:
men body fat % = −26.97 − 0.12 × weight + 1.99 × abdomenwomen body fat % = −9.15 − 0.015 × weight + 1.27 × abdomenThe page converts kilograms and centimetres to pounds and inches before applying them, so metric entries give the same answer as the imperial ones they equal.
Look at the signs. For a fixed abdominal measurement, more body weight lowers the estimate slightly. One way to read that: the same waist on a heavier frame went with more lean tissue in the people the equation was fitted to. The abdominal term does most of the work: each extra inch adds about two percentage points for men and one and a quarter for women.
What the estimate can and cannot tell you
A tape measure and a scale cannot see fat directly. The equation predicts the body fat a person with those measurements would typically have, and any individual can sit some way above or below that. Measurement error adds to it: an inch of difference in where the tape sits moves the male estimate by about two points.
The page gives the fat mass and fat-free mass that follow from the percentage and your weight. Both inherit the estimate’s uncertainty.
What this page leaves out
The Army’s maximum allowable body fat standards, its age groups and its confirmation procedures are not reproduced here, and the page never says whether a result meets them. Those are the Army’s decisions to apply. The page also does not model the supplemental assessments the Army allows after a failed tape test.
With your numbers
- The equation takes pounds and inches: 180 lb and 36 in
- −26.97 − 0.12 × 180 + 1.99 × 36 = 23.07%
Quick reference
An estimate from two measurements. The Army’s own assessment rounds and averages the tape readings, which this page does not.
| Example | Estimated body fat |
|---|---|
| Male, 160 lb, 32 in | 17.51% |
| Male, 180 lb, 36 in | 23.07% |
| Male, 200 lb, 40 in | 28.63% |
| Female, 130 lb, 30 in | 27% |
| Female, 150 lb, 34 in | 31.78% |
| Male, 82 kg, 90 cm | 21.85% |
| Female, 64 kg, 82 cm | 29.73% |
Common questions about the Army Body Fat Calculator
- What is the Army one-site tape test?
- It estimates body fat from two numbers: body weight and one tape measurement around the abdomen at the navel. The Army introduced it in 2023 alongside the older multi-site method, which also uses the neck and height. Army Directive 2023-11 made it the only tape method after a twelve-month phase-in.
- How is it different from the Navy method on the body fat calculator?
- The body fat calculator uses the Hodgdon-Beckett circumference equations, which take height, neck and waist (and hips for women) and work through body density. The Army one-site equation is a straight-line formula in body weight and abdominal circumference only. The two are different regressions and will not generally give the same answer for the same person.
- Did I pass?
- This page does not say. The Army compares the estimate with maximum allowable percentages that depend on age group and sex, and it has its own procedures for measuring, rounding and confirming results. For an official result, only the Army's own assessment counts.
- How should the abdomen be measured?
- The Army worksheet says to measure at the level of the navel, round down to the nearest half inch, take three readings and average them to the nearest half inch, with weight to the nearest pound. This page uses exactly what you type, so round the same way if you want to match the worksheet.
- Why does the page refuse some measurements?
- The equation is a straight line fitted to a range of real bodies. Far outside that range, for example a heavy weight with a very small abdomen, it can give a negative percentage. The page refuses those results rather than report a number the equation was never meant to give.