Our army body fat calculator is equipped with the latest formulas and techniques to calculate the body fat percentage in the human body. If you are planning to join armed forces in your country, you may need to test your body fat to meet the body fat percentage requirements of the army.
We have developed this army standard calculator aiming at precision, based on the U.S Army body fat formulas and the body fat percentage requirements by the army. You will find the formulas and BFP (Body fat percentage) requirements table of the U.S Army later in this post.
The specialty of our army body fat calculator is that it simplifies the complexity of body fat percentage calculation. You don’t need to stick your head in the formulas and equations for a long time to calculate your body fat. You only need some of the measurements of your body to check the fat level in your body. We will provide the method to measure the specific parts of your body later in this post. You can follow that method to measure your height, waist, and neck which are required to calculate the fat levels in a human body.
First of all, you have to select your gender. The reason to specify gender is that the standard formulas to evaluate the fat level in a body by U.S Army are different for men and women due to the distinct traits of the body in both genders. After selecting your gender, enter your age in years. Enter your height in the next box, and you can also choose the unit of height from inch, centimeter, feet, and meter.
Enter the circumference of your neck in the next box. Enter the circumference of your waist in the next box. You can choose the measuring unit for the neck and waist from the aforementioned set of units. Click the “Calculate” button to see the results. Our fat measuring tool will immediately publish the fat level percentage for you. You can use this test to set your goals for future fat levels if you are going to join the army or any type of force in your country.
Body fat has a bad status for most of us. The composition of a body is calculated by comparing body mass and body fat. You must fulfill the height and weight criteria for your age to be eligible to join the Army. If you have extra body fat than the required limit, you can qualify for the army by reducing your body fat.
We have provided a complete guide below to decrease fat levels. You can also seek the assistance of a professional trainer to determine the excess fat levels in your body, or you can use our calculator to do so.
There are a total of three types of body fat in the human body which are classified as white, brown, and visceral fat.
Brown fat is a type of fat often seen in children, but adults often maintain very little brown fat, typically on their shoulders and necks. Recent research shows that obese people tend to have less brown fat as compared to lean people. It means that the brown fat resides in the leaner people instead of the fat people. Scientists view it as a potential treatment to reduce body fat if they can simulate the brown fat in an overweight person.
White fat is the most common type of body fat in people. It consists of white cells that are large enough and reside in the thighs, abdomen, buttocks, arms, and around the skin. These fat cells are used by the body when it is low on energy and needs calories to make the organs function well. White fat is used for energy storage and the production of hormones that then go into the bloodstream.
Visceral fat envelopes the inner organs and causes health problems. You have visceral fat if you have a big waist. Chances of cardiac disorder, diabetes, dementia, and even heart attack are increased by visceral fat.
Visceral fats play a greater role in insulin resistance than other fat that increases your risk of diabetes. Visceral fats lead to diseases like diabetes and cardiac arrest, which is enough to understand the negative effects of this fat in the human body.
The body fat ratio is not calculated based on BMI measurement of any kind. It is based on the relativity between several measurements of the body and the height of an individual.
86.01 x log10 (waist - neck) - 70.041 x log10 (height) + 36.76
U.S Army body fat formula for women
163.205 x log10 (waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10 (height) - 78.387
All measurements in these formulas are in inches. Replace 78.387 with 104.912 in the formula for women and 36.76 with 30.30 in the formula for men if you want to take the measurements in centimeters.
According to the United States Army Regulation 40-501, which is a standard for medical fitness, the following table outlines the maximum body fat percentage to be allowed to join the army.
According to the United States Army Regulation 40-501, which is a standard for medical fitness, the following table outlines the maximum body fat percentage to keep your job in the army.
Maximum limit of Body Fat Percentage allowed by the U.S Army to join.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 17-20 | 26% | 32% |
| 21-27 | 26% | 32% |
| 28-39 | 28% | 34% |
| 40 and Above | 30% | 36% |
Maximum limit of Body Fat Percentage allowed by U.S Army.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 17-20 | 20% | 30% |
| 21-27 | 22% | 32% |
| 28-39 | 24% | 34% |
| 40 and Above | 26% | 36% |
The U.S Defense Department aims to recruit 18% male body fat and 26% female body fat in the military.
Reducing body fat is not that easy for everyone. First, consider reducing the number of calories that you eat on a daily basis. You can use our calorie calculator to get an idea of where you should aim. Determination and consistency are important and getting help from people around you.
You should do resistance training to reduce your body fat. The dedicated and regular activity makes it possible for a person to retain a low body fat percentage even in spite of age-related weight gain tendency.
Improved muscle and CR strength have a positive effect on the composition of your body and will reduce fat. Excess body fat affects exercise routines, declines efficiency, and impacts your wellbeing adversely. The body fat percentage of one person should not be compared to others because several factors affect body fat in general.
A healthy diet and exercise are better sources for good body composition. Poor structure of the body causes problems for the army and the soldier. Soldiers with bad muscular progression and those with good development cannot compete. When a Soldier is excessively weighty, he or she decreases physical ability and increases the risk of disease and injury. Soldiers with high body fat levels often have less APFT than soldiers with lower body fat.
Poor body composition, in particular, obesity, has negative consequences on appearance, self-appreciation, and adverse effects on morality and attitude. Keep monitoring of your overall body composition, height, and weight standards by using our Army BMI calculator above.
In contrast to the popular belief that amino acid infusions in deficient patients do not decrease body fat percentage and do not increase chances during the application examination for the army. Research of healthy subjects does not promote the use of supplements such as tyrosine, ornithine, arginine, lysine, or any other supplement.
No increases in physical performance have also been identified, so you can save your money and energy by not using these supplements. Do not use any amino acids, supplements, or any medicine to lose your body fat because these supplements have their side effects and affect your body very badly instead of reducing fat in your body.
The body needs a particular amount of fat because it is the reserved energy that the body uses to keep the body functioning regularly and efficiently. Nonetheless, too much weight shows poor wellbeing. The US Navy also established an army tape test to quantify body fat by using a tape scale.
Surprisingly, for most citizens, the findings are similar to the true values. The tests from our army height and weight calculator would also be like that. There are different steps for men and women to measure body fat. First, let’s go through the guidelines for men to measure body fat.
First of all, you have to measure your neck. Put the measuring tape around your neck and check the measurement of your whole round neck. You should not compress your neck; otherwise, the measurement will not be accurate.
Measure your waist, which is an important part of your weight because of the large levels of body fat in this region. Put the measuring tape around your waist and carefully measure the size of your abdomen. Make sure the tape stays smooth against the skin, and the soft tissue does not get a pinch.
Body fat percentage also depends on your height. Measure your full height with a measuring tape. You can measure your height by standing against a wall. Stand against a wall without wearing any shoe and mark the place where your head ends. The floor should be smooth where you will stand to measure your height. Use the measuring tape to check your height by measuring the distance between the mark and the floor.
Enter these measured values in our army body fat calculator, or you can also use available body fat evaluation formulas to check your body fat percentage manually. It would be very convenient to use our online calculator because calculating your body fat using formulas is a complex task.
If your body fat is more than the U.S military standards as mentioned above, and you are trying to join the army or have a specific goal, consult an expert to lower your body fat.
Just like the first step in the previous section, you have to measure your neck. Place the measuring tape around your neck and check the size of your full neck. You should not compress your neck; otherwise, the measurement will not be precise.
Measure your waist carefully as it needs caution to measure the waist of women as compared to men. You have to measure the waist from its slimmest place. You can place the measuring tape around your waist after the belly button. Get two or three readings by measuring your waist from several points and consider the lowest value a correct one.
Now you have to check the size of the hip. Women usually have more weight on their thighs than men. This is a major measure because it measures body fat more accurately in women. Place the measuring tape around your hip and take the reading carefully without bending. You can get the assistance of a friend to get readings for you. It will make sure that measured readings are accurate.
Check your height by using a measuring tape. Check your height as previously stated by standing against a wall. If you are wearing any footwear, remove them and stand straight against a wall. Scratch the place where your head ends with a coin or leave a mark using a marker. Your feet should stay flat on the floor; otherwise, you will not get the best result. You should stand in a smooth place, as mentioned before. Your back chest should be touching the wall when measuring your height.
After measuring all these values, use our army pt calculator to check the body fat percentage in your body.