Military Adopts New Method for Measuring Body Fat

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth previewed the policy change on Sept. 30. Since taking office, Hegseth has placed renewed emphasis on fitness standards.

U.S. Army soldiers conduct the two-mile run portion of the Army Combat Fitness Test during a fitness competition at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Bavaria, Germany, on May 11, 2025. Spc. Sar Paw/U.S. Army via DVIDS

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.