Military Body Fat Calculator

Now there's even more reasons to watch your body fat. The military body fat calculator measures body fat with respect to U.S. Army body fat standards.

Minimum Standards

Minimum body fat standards acceptable to the U.S. Army range from 20% body fat for a 17 to 20 year old male to up to 30% for a male 40 years or older.

Body fat standards for women are higher: 30% for a woman aged 17 to 20, and rising to 36% for a woman 40 years or older.

BMI and Body Fat

Military body fat calculations seek to achieve the original goal of Adolphe Quetelet BMI equation. Just like the military body fat calculator, Quetelet's BMI standards sought a statistical way to separate obese from the the average.

Ways to Measure Body Fat

The BMI equation uses two "inputs" for the BMI equation: height and weight.

The military calculator for body fat takes a different approach. For men there are three key measurements, not just two. Women have four measurements.

How to Calculate Percent Body Fat

You're going to love this! Here's the math formula for men that calculates body fat percent:

Percent of Body Fat=495/(1.0324-.19077(log(abdomen-neck))+.15456(log(height)))-450

Now that's one formula you don't want to solve with pencil and paper!

Here's an easy way to calculate your body fat:

Calculate Your Body Fat

Here's the deal: Body fat measurement for men rely on three measurements:

Abdomen: At the level of the navel. (Yup, that's where you're fatter!)
Neck: Below the larynx (adam's apple), tape slightly sloping downward to the front.
Height: Measured without shoes.

For women there are four body fat calculation measurements:

Height: No shoes.
Abdomen: Minimum measurement - usually slightly above the navel.
Hip: Largest horizontal circumference around the hips.
Neck: Below the larynx (adam's apple), tape slightly sloping downward to the front.

Enter these measurements here: