Last verified against Department of War Instruction 1308.03 and each branch's body composition rules.
In 2026 the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force moved to the waist-to-height ratio as their first body composition check, and the Army dropped the tape test and its height and weight tables entirely. The Coast Guard is not a Department of War service: it has no ratio rule and kept its own four-step screening. Check your ratio below, then see each branch’s line, how the ratio is read and what follows if you miss it. Already have a body fat result? The body fat step and tape test page checks it against your branch’s limit.
Score it with your other PFRA components in the Air Force PFRA calculator.
Have a body fat result? Check it against your branch's limit.
Your official score is the one your unit records.
The waist-to-height ratio standard in each branch
The table shows the ratio that meets each branch's standard and how many decimals the branch keeps: it cuts the ratio off there instead of rounding it.
| Branch | Meets the standardStandard | Decimals keptDecimals |
|---|---|---|
| Army | Below 0.55 | 3 |
| Navy | Below 0.55 | 4 |
| Marine Corps | 0.52 or less | Not stated |
| Air Force | Scored in the PFRA: 20 points at 0.49 or less, down to 0 at 0.60 or more. No minimum score, but 0.55 or above triggers a body fat assessment if you do not meet PFRA standards. | 2 |
| Space Force | Below 0.55 | 2 |
The Coast Guard has no ratio rule; its screening steps are below.
What happens over the line in each branch
If your ratio misses the standard, your branch's next step is below, with the document that sets it. The body fat limits are on the body fat step and tape test page.
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Army
No body fat step: the ratio is the Army's only body composition measure. The Army flags a Soldier at 0.55 or more and enrolls them in the Army Body Composition Program.
Source: Army Directive 2026-13 (ABCP) para 5a; army.mil ABCP FAQ (Jul 2026) -
Navy
Body fat estimate from Guide-4 Tables 2 and 3 (height minus waist, and weight).
Source: Navy PRP Guide-4, Body Composition Assessment (Jun 2026), sections 2 and 3 -
Marine Corps
Body fat by the multi-site tape test or bioelectrical impedance; body fat standards unchanged (MCO 6110.3A).
Source: MARADMIN 073/26 para 1 (amends MARADMIN 066/26 para 6); MARADMIN 066/26 paras 2 and 3.d -
Air Force
At 0.55 or above, and not meeting PFRA standards, a body fat assessment (InBody scale, or the 2-3 site tape method). Score the ratio with your other components in the Air Force PFRA calculator.
Source: AFMAN 36-2905 (24 Mar 2026) paras 3.7.2, 3.15.4.2, 3.15.4.5, 3.15.4.7, Table 3.2 -
Space Force
A lab-grade body fat assessment (for example DEXA), or a 2-3 site tape method if none is available.
Source: SPFMAN 36-2905 incorporating Change 3 (24 Apr 2026) paras 3.2.4, 9.1, 9.2 -
Coast Guard
No ratio rule. COMDTINST 1020.8I screens in four steps: maximum allowable weight, maximum allowable body fat, abdominal circumference and the Physical Fitness Test. You take the steps in order and stop at the first one you pass. The body fat step and tape test page explains how its tape test works.
Source: COMDTINST 1020.8I, Body Composition Standards Program (31 Mar 2022); Coast Guard reinstates standard Body Composition Screenings for all members (Oct 2026)
The DoW rules behind each branch's line
DoW Instruction 1308.03, dated 31 August 2026, sets the rules the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force build their body composition checks on. The Coast Guard follows its own instruction.
- The lineEach service sets a goal of a waist-to-height ratio below 0.55 for its members, and no service may count 0.55 or more as meeting the standard. A service can set its line lower, as the Marine Corps does at 0.52.
Source: DoW Instruction 1308.03 para 3.2.g(4) and (5); MARADMIN 073/26. - Over the lineUnder the instruction, a member at 0.55 or above, or over their service’s own line, moves to a body fat calculation. Services set body fat limits no stricter than 18% for men and 26% for women, and no looser than 26% and 36%.
Source: DoW Instruction 1308.03 para 3.2.g(7). - How oftenEach Military Department checks body composition twice a year. National Guard and Reserve members are checked with their annual fitness test.
Source: DoW Instruction 1308.03 para 3.2.g(1) and (2).
Military body composition questions
Where is my waist measured?
Each branch names its own site. The Army measures at the navel, the Navy at the belly button from your right side, the Marine Corps at the navel with the tape parallel to the deck, and the Air Force on bare skin at the midpoint between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone. DoW Instruction 1308.03 describes that midpoint, which it says is typically at or just above the belly button, with a non-stretch tape held parallel to the floor and both measurements rounded down to the nearest half inch (para 3.2.g(6)).
Can a high fitness score make up for body composition?
Only within limits your service sets. DoW Instruction 1308.03 lets a service give high scorers an allowance, but a high score never excuses you from the maximum body composition standards (para 3.1.b(4)). The Marine Corps lets Marines who score 285 or more on both the PFT and the CFT carry up to 26% body fat for men or 36% for women, and adds 1% for 250 or more on both (MARADMIN 066/26). The Navy has a High-Performance BCA Exemption, with its criteria in PRP Guide-1 (Guide-4 section 1 para 2.b).
What happens if I fail body composition?
In the five DoW services you go into your service’s remedial program, with prescribed training, nutrition and behavioral counseling and a medical evaluation when you start (DoW Instruction 1308.03 paras 3.1.b(11), 3.2.g(8) and 3.2.i). Continued failure can lead to administrative measures, including separation. In the Navy, a body fat result over the limit fails the whole PFA for that cycle unless the High-Performance BCA Exemption applies (Guide-4 section 1 para 2.b).
Sources
- DoW Instruction 1308.03, DoW Physical Fitness/Body Composition Program Under Secretary of War, 31 August 2026. Two fitness tests a year, the waist-to-height ratio limit and the body fat bounds for the five DoW services.
- Army Directive 2026-13 (Army Body Composition Program and Standards) Secretary of the Army, July 2026. The waist-to-height ratio is the Army's only body composition measure.
- Army Body Composition Program and Standards (FAQ) army.mil, July 2026. Where the waist is measured and how the ratio is read.
- Navy PRP Guide-4, Body Composition Assessment U.S. Navy, June 2026. The two-step Body Composition Assessment and its tables.
- AFMAN 36-2905, Air Force Physical Fitness Readiness Program Department of the Air Force, 24 March 2026. The WHtR points and the body fat assessment.
- MARADMIN 066/26 February 2026. Waist-to-height ratio first, then body fat; the performance allowance.
- MARADMIN 073/26 February 2026. Sets the Marine Corps line at 0.52 or less.
- SPFMAN 36-2905, Human Performance and Readiness, incorporating Change 3 Department of the Air Force, 24 April 2026. Chapter 9, the body composition assessment.
- COMDTINST 1020.8I, Body Composition Standards Program U.S. Coast Guard, 31 March 2022. Weight screening, tape test and body fat limits; still in effect.
- ALCOAST 079/26 U.S. Coast Guard, 25 March 2026. COMDTINST 1020.8I is under review for the DoW change and stays in effect.
- Coast Guard reinstates standard Body Composition Screenings for all members U.S. Coast Guard, October 2026. The four screening steps, in order.
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