Summary and Key Points – The U.S. military has officially replaced the controversial height-and-weight tables with a new Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR) method to estimate body fat.
-Under the new policy, outlined by Under Secretary of War Anthony Tata, a service member’s waist must be less than 0.55 of their height to pass.
Pfc. Christina Fuentes Montenegro and other Marines from Delta Company, Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry-East, receive final instructions prior to assaulting an objective during the Infantry Integrated Field Training Exercise aboard Camp Geiger, N.C., Nov 15, 2013. Montenegro is one of three female Marines to be the first women to graduate infantry training with the battalion. Delta Company is the first company at ITB with female students as part of a measured, deliberate and responsible collection of data on the performance of female Marines when executing existing infantry tasks and training events, the Marine Corps is soliciting entry-level female Marine volunteers to attend the eight week basic infantryman and infantry rifleman training courses at ITB.
-The move aims to correct long-standing issues with the old system, which frequently penalized muscular troops—like Special Forces operators—while failing to accurately assess health.
-The new standard focuses on “central adiposity” (belly fat), which is a better indicator of cardiovascular risk and overall readiness.
U.S. Military Adopts Waist-to-Height Ratio as New Body Fat Standard for Troops
The Pentagon is officially ditching the old height-and-weight tables in favor of a waist-to-height ratio to estimate troops’ body fat, according to an official memo released on Monday. To pass, a service member’s waist measurement can be only slightly more than half of their height.
Anthony Tata, the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness, posted a memo outlining the method for dividing a service member’s waist circumference by their height to estimate body fat percentage.
“Body composition is a vital component for the warrior ethos and foundational to lethality and readiness. The upper limit for allowable WHtR for Military Service body composition policies shall be less than 0.55. With consideration to the warrior ethos, lethality, readiness, and cardiovascular health, each Military Department will evaluate Service members’ body composition twice per year.”
CAMP HANSEN — Lance Cpl. Zachary A. Whitman, a shooter with the III Marine Expeditionary Force detachment, familiarizes himself with the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle in preparation for the Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting 2012. AASAM is a multilateral, multinational event allowing Marines to exchange skills tactics, techniques and procedures with members of the Australian Army as well as other international militaries in friendly competition. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brandon L. Saunders/released)
The new body fat standards are 18-26 percent for men and 26-36 percent for women, according to Tata’s December 18 memo.
The Military Finally Ditched The Height And Weight Tables
According to an article on Military.com, “Height-and-weight tables were never designed to measure physical readiness or long-term health. They functioned as population-level screening tools and often failed to account for muscle mass, occupational demands, or actual performance. Over time, this mismatch led to widespread dissatisfaction, particularly among servicemembers who consistently passed physical fitness tests but failed administrative screening.”
Height and weight tables in the military were hated because they were considered inaccurate, biased, and demoralizing. They frequently failed to distinguish between muscular fitness and excess body fat, leading to physically capable service members being unfairly penalized or discharged.
Many moons ago, when I was an instructor at the Army’s Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course, many of our NCOs pumped iron and were in phenomenally physical shape. One of my friends was an active competitor in Ironman/Triathlons. He would PT with us every morning, and swim at lunch (between classes) and ride his bike about 20 miles home most nights.
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii (July 6, 2022) U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Darrel Ebaugh, a scout sniper with Weapons Company, Battalion Land Team, 3d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Marine Air-Ground Task Force 7 (MAGFT-7), sights in on a target during a live-fire sniper range in support of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, July 6, 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationship among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brayden Daniel)
But he was built like an NFL fullback and was constantly told he didn’t meet the tables and associated Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations, which was ridiculous.
During the same time frame, we adopted a workout program tailored to what we needed in SF, but we were frequently told we were not within the BMI range.
Flawed Tape Test and What I Saw: What I Encountered in the U.S. Military
When individuals exceeded the initial weight limit, they were measured with a “tape test” to estimate body fat. This method was also criticized for being inaccurate and biased across different body types, ethnicities, and genders, leading to jokes about “cheating” the test (e.g., developing a thick neck).
My own max weight for my age bracket was 205, and in the best shape of my life, where in 3/7 SFG, a 20 miler with all of our “lightweight gear” was typically done in about 5.5 hours, and six-mile runs were the norm, I weighed between 208 and 211. One weigh-in had 75 percent of our company in line at the Battalion Surgeon’s office for the silly “tape test.”
He sent us all back with a memo to the Group HQs, stating that there wasn’t enough body fat to bother measuring.
An excellent article on this was written by Stew Smith, a former Navy SEAL and fitness author, who is certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He writes some outstanding articles on preparing for Special Operations Selection Courses.
The Waist-to-Height Ratio Focus
By contrast, the waist-to-height ratio focuses on central adiposity, which medical research consistently links to cardiovascular and metabolic risk.
Central adiposity, or abdominal obesity, is the excess accumulation of fat in the belly area, both under the skin (subcutaneous) and around internal organs (visceral), significantly increasing the risk of serious health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
It’s a key indicator of metabolic health, often measured by waist circumference, and indicates that fat is being stored in a metabolically active, risky way.
“Defense officials have cited this stronger correlation as a central reason for the policy change, arguing that body-composition standards should reflect real health indicators rather than blunt numerical proxies,” Haley Fuller wrote in the Military.com article.
The old method was inaccurate and failed to measure a military member’s physical fitness accurately. The new standard is based on health science and plain operational logic.
It remains to be seen if it will be successful, but it is undoubtedly much better than the former way.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
