The US Army’s Body Fat Calculator is used to determine if individuals meet the Army’s physical fitness standards. It requires gender, height, age, neck, and abdomen measurements. The Department of Defense has maximum allowable body fat percentages for each age group. The Army’s requirements are less stringent than other branches of the US military.
The US Army publishes new regulations every few years regarding the Army’s physical fitness standards. The Army Body Fat Calculator is part of the US Army Medical Fitness Standards. It provides a means of determining body fat percentages and whether an individual meets or exceeds Army standards.
The Army Body Fat Calculator requires entering gender, height, and age, as well as neck and abdomen measurements. Once a person’s body fat has been calculated, the value can be compared to the Department of Defense’s maximum allowable body fat percentages for the armed services. Accurate recording of body measurements for the Army Body Fat Calculator requires a person to stand tall and relaxed, arms hanging naturally alongside the body. The neck measurement is taken just below the larynx, while the waist is measured around the navel, where the circumference is largest. Body fat measurements should be taken multiple times to ensure accuracy, and then an average of the measurements should be used, rounded to the nearest quarter inch.
The Department of Defense requires that men between the ages of 17 and 27 have less than 26 percent body fat, while women in this age range must have less than 32 percent body fat. Men ages 28-39 must have less than 28% body fat, and women must have less than 34%. The maximum body fat percentage allowed for men over the age of 40 is 30%, while women in this age group are allowed 38%. In the Army Medical Fitness Standards, the Department of Defense references its more rigorous body fat target, preferring that men have 18 percent or less body fat and women have 26 percent or less.
The Army also publishes standards that people must meet after boot camp. These standards are about 2 percent lower in each age group compared to the maximum body fat percentages allowed for new recruits. The Army expects recruits to lose body fat and gain lean muscle tissue with the rigorous training required in boot camp.
The US Army’s body fat requirements are less stringent than those of the other US armed forces. The Marine Corps, for example, requires male recruits to have 18 percent or less body fat. . Female Marine recruits must be less than 26 percent. Similarly, the Navy requires all new male recruits to have less than 23 percent body fat, although women are allowed 34 percent. The Army Body Fat Calculator is available as an online application and can also be downloaded for desktop use.
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