Military Adopts New Method for Measuring Body Fat

The Pentagon has directed the U.S. military to begin evaluating troops on their body fat composition using waist-to-height ratio measurements.

According to a Pentagon memo dated Dec. 18, 2025, and published on Jan. 12, military services will discontinue the use of height and weight tables to determine the body fat composition of military personnel. Instead, body fat composition will be determined by taking a person’s waist circumference measurement and dividing it by their height measurement.

The new policy memo states the various military services will employ an upper limit measurement of less than 0.55. Military personnel will have to meet this measurement requirement at least twice a year.

Those having a waist-to-height ratio score of 0.55 or above will face a secondary evaluation based on a body fat calculation. Men facing the secondary body fat calculation are expected to measure between 18 and 26 percent body fat, while women are expected to measure between 26 and 36 percent body fat.

Military personnel exceeding both the waist-to-height ratio measurement and body fat percentage limits will be placed in a remedial program.

The memo, which was signed by Undersecretary of War for Personnel Anthony Tata, states that failing to meet these body composition standards may result in withholding of favorable personnel actions, such as promotions.

Some allowances may be granted for military personnel who continue to perform well on fitness tests despite failing body composition measurements. However, the memo also states, “High performance does not excuse non-compliance with body composition standards.”

Military personnel who continue to fail to meet the standards or make sufficient progress could be administratively separated from military service.

The new body composition policy is the result of a policy change Secretary of War Pete Hegseth previewed on Sept. 30, 2025. In a speech that day to a gathering of U.S. military generals, admirals, and senior enlisted personnel, Hegseth said, “It’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops.”

“Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It’s a bad look,” he continued.

Hegseth has sought to improve fitness standards as part of a broader emphasis on warrior ethos and force readiness. He ordered a review of fitness and grooming standards throughout the military in March.

After the Washington-based think tank American Security Project released a report in April estimating 68 percent of reserve troops are overweight or obese, Hegseth responded on social media by vowing to course correct and stating, “We will be FIT, not FAT.”

When several heavyset members of the Texas National Guard were photographed during a deployment to Illinois in October, Hegseth ordered them removed from duty and replaced.