Army Height and Weight Standards 2026: The Waist-to-Height Chart

The Army no longer has height and weight standards. On 1 July 2026 the Secretary of the Army signed Army Directive 2026-13, which says “the use of height and weight screening tables is discontinued.” The only body composition standard now is the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR):

• Measure the waist at the navel, in inches.
• Divide by height, in inches.
• The result must be below 0.55. A ratio of 0.550 fails.

That one number applies to every Soldier, man or woman, at any age. The tape test and every backup body fat method are gone too, and a high fitness test score no longer exempts anyone.

This page turns the directive into something you can use: the maximum waist for every height from 4’10” to 6’8”, how the measurement is taken and rounded, what happens if you fail, how the Army’s rule compares with the other branches, and what research says works for bringing a waist measurement down. Every figure links to its source, and the full list is at the end.

The rule in one table

	What the directive and DA Form 5500 say
Standard	WHtR “less than and not equal to 0.55” (AD 2026-13, para 5a(3))
Who	Regular Army, National Guard, Army Reserve, plus USMA and Senior ROTC cadets
How often	At least twice per calendar year; commanders can order one any time
Where the tape goes	At the navel (belly button) (ABCP FAQ)
Readings	Three, each rounded down to the nearest 0.5 inch, then averaged (DA Form 5500, Jul 2026)
Ratio precision	Three decimal places, not rounded: 0.549888 is recorded as 0.549 (pass)
Timing	At least 7 days after an AFT or CFT, unless operations require otherwise
If you fail	Same-day confirmation by a different team, then flag and ABCP enrollment
Backup methods	None. No tape test or other body fat test can challenge the result
AFT exemption	None. AD 2025-17 (465+ points) is rescinded

All Soldiers had to have a WHtR recorded in the Army Training Information System within 90 days of the directive, which works out to 29 September 2026.

Maximum waist for every height

The limit is 0.55 × your height in inches. Your waist has to come in under that. The table below works it out for every half inch, since height is recorded to the half inch on DA Form 5500.

The fourth column is the number you will most likely care about. Each tape reading is rounded down to a half inch, so every reading is a whole or half inch: 37, 37½, 38. This column shows the highest of those that still passes if all three readings agree. The last column shows the Marine Corps limit for comparison (more on that below).

Height	Inches	Army limit (0.55 × height)	Highest Army reading that passes	Marine Corps limit (0.52 × height)
4’10”	58	31.9”	31½”	30.16”
4’10½”	58.5	32.175”	32”	30.42”
4’11”	59	32.45”	32”	30.68”
4’11½”	59.5	32.725”	32½”	30.94”
5’0”	60	33”	32½”	31.2”
5’0½”	60.5	33.275”	33”	31.46”
5’1”	61	33.55”	33½”	31.72”
5’1½”	61.5	33.825”	33½”	31.98”
5’2”	62	34.1”	34”	32.24”
5’2½”	62.5	34.375”	34”	32.5”
5’3”	63	34.65”	34½”	32.76”
5’3½”	63.5	34.925”	34½”	33.02”
5’4”	64	35.2”	35”	33.28”
5’4½”	64.5	35.475”	35”	33.54”
5’5”	65	35.75”	35½”	33.8”
5’5½”	65.5	36.025”	36”	34.06”
5’6”	66	36.3”	36”	34.32”
5’6½”	66.5	36.575”	36½”	34.58”
5’7”	67	36.85”	36½”	34.84”
5’7½”	67.5	37.125”	37”	35.1”
5’8”	68	37.4”	37”	35.36”
5’8½”	68.5	37.675”	37½”	35.62”
5’9”	69	37.95”	37½”	35.88”
5’9½”	69.5	38.225”	38”	36.14”
5’10”	70	38.5”	38”	36.4”
5’10½”	70.5	38.775”	38½”	36.66”
5’11”	71	39.05”	39”	36.92”
5’11½”	71.5	39.325”	39”	37.18”
6’0”	72	39.6”	39½”	37.44”
6’0½”	72.5	39.875”	39½”	37.7”
6’1”	73	40.15”	40”	37.96”
6’1½”	73.5	40.425”	40”	38.22”
6’2”	74	40.7”	40½”	38.48”
6’2½”	74.5	40.975”	40½”	38.74”
6’3”	75	41.25”	41”	39”
6’3½”	75.5	41.525”	41½”	39.26”
6’4”	76	41.8”	41½”	39.52”
6’4½”	76.5	42.075”	42”	39.78”
6’5”	77	42.35”	42”	40.04”
6’5½”	77.5	42.625”	42½”	40.3”
6’6”	78	42.9”	42½”	40.56”
6’6½”	78.5	43.175”	43”	40.82”
6’7”	79	43.45”	43”	41.08”
6’7½”	79.5	43.725”	43½”	41.34”
6’8”	80	44”	43½”	41.6”

Calculated from the 0.55 standard and the rounding rules on DA Form 5500. Each extra half inch of height raises the Army limit by 0.275 inch.

How the rounding works in your favor

Two details on the form help Soldiers near the line.

Readings round down. If the tape shows 37.9 inches, it is recorded as 37.5. So at 5’9” (69 inches), where the limit is 37.95, any true waist under 38 inches is recorded as 37.5 or less and passes (37.5 ÷ 69 = 0.543). A reading of 38 fails: 38 ÷ 69 = 0.5507, recorded as 0.550.

Three readings are averaged. At 5’10” (70 inches) the limit is exactly 38.5 inches, so three readings of 38½ give 0.550 and fail. But readings of 38½, 38½ and 38 average 38.333, and 38.333 ÷ 70 = 0.547, which passes. When you sit right at a half-inch boundary, the average of three readings can decide it.

A worked example: how far off are you?

A Soldier who is 5’8” (68 inches) gets readings of 39, 39 and 39½:

1. Average waist: (39 + 39 + 39.5) ÷ 3 = 39.167 inches
2. WHtR: 39.167 ÷ 68 = 0.57598, recorded as 0.575. Fails.
3. Limit: 0.55 × 68 = 37.4 inches. The highest passing reading is 37.
4. The gap: the average reading has to drop below 37.4, about 2 inches less than now.

Their weight never enters the calculation. Neither does their AFT score.

One correction to the goarmy.com chart

Goarmy.com publishes its own maximum-waist chart for applicants. We checked it at every half inch it covers, 4’10” to 6’6½” (42 heights), against the 0.55 rule. Forty match the table above. Two do not: the chart lists 33 inches for 5’0” and 38.5 inches for 5’10”. At exactly those heights, those waists work out to 0.550, which DA Form 5500 says “does not meet the standard.” If you are 5’0” or 5’10”, treat 32½ and 38 inches as the highest single readings that pass.

How to measure yourself the Army way

You need a flexible tape measure and someone to read it.

1. Height: stand in socks against a wall, heels together, and mark the top of your head. Measure to the nearest half inch.
2. Waist: wrap the tape around your waist at the navel, level all the way around and snug without pressing into the skin.
3. Take three readings, writing each one down rounded down to the half inch (37.9 becomes 37.5).
4. Average them and divide by your height. Cut the answer off at three decimals. Under 0.550 passes.

Your result can differ from health calculators. The NICE guideline NG246 and the NHS measure the waist midway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip, “just above the belly button.” The Army measures at the navel itself, so use the navel if you are checking against the Army standard.

Measure at the same time of day each time. The directive also requires at least 7 days between an AFT or CFT and a WHtR check.

What happens if you don’t meet the standard

The process from AD 2026-13 and the Army’s FAQ:

1. Confirmation measurement: a different team measures you again on the same duty day before your commander can take any action.
2. Flag and enrollment: if you still measure 0.550 or higher, you are flagged (flag code K, which cannot be transferred) and enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program (ABCP).
3. Medical exam: for Regular Army and Active Guard Reserve Soldiers, the commander requests an exam to rule out a medical cause. Guard and Reserve Soldiers may request one, at their own expense if not on active duty.
4. Getting out: the old monthly progress checks are gone. You stay enrolled until you meet the standard, and you are removed “as soon as” you do.
5. Separation: units may start separation paperwork for ABCP failure, but no Soldier will be separated until headquarters finishes a 180-day assessment of the standard and issues more guidance.

Pregnant and postpartum Soldiers keep their existing medical exemptions, according to the FAQ.

Recruits face the same 0.55 line. Goarmy.com says applicants who miss it at MEPS may qualify for the fitness track of the Future Soldier Preparatory Course, a 90-day program to reach the standard before basic training.

How the Army’s standard changed, 2019–2026

Assembled from the directive’s reference list and Army announcements. It explains why older guides online still show weight tables, tape tests and fitness-score exemptions.

Date	Change
16 Jul 2019	AR 600-9 (current edition): height and weight screening tables, with a circumference tape test for Soldiers over their screening weight
15 Mar 2023	AD 2023-08: Soldiers scoring 540+ on the ACFT, with 80+ in every event, exempt from body fat assessment (army.mil)
9 Jun 2023	AD 2023-11: one-site tape test at the waist replaces the multi-site test; supplemental body fat tests allowed on request (army.mil)
8 Jun 2024	One-site tape becomes the only authorized tape method (Army IG)
4 Sep 2025	AD 2025-17: with the AFT replacing the ACFT, the exemption moves to 465+ AFT points with 80+ in each event (army.mil)
30 Sep 2025	The Defense Secretary announces the move to WHtR across the services, measured twice a year (Stars and Stripes)
18 Dec 2025	Under Secretary memo: the WHtR limit for every service “shall be less than 0.55” (Stars and Stripes)
1 Jul 2026	AD 2026-13 signed: WHtR becomes the only Army standard; tables, tape test, supplemental tests and the AFT exemption all rescinded
7 Jul 2026	Army announces the change, effective immediately (MyArmyBenefits)

Army vs. other branches

The Pentagon set 0.55 as the ceiling for all services, but each service runs its own program. The Army’s version is the simplest and the least forgiving on one point: there is no second test.

	WHtR standard	If you are over
DoD floor (Dec 2025 memo)	Below 0.55	Further body fat testing. Limits range from 18–26% for men and 26–36% for women (Stars and Stripes)
Army	Below 0.55	Same-day recheck by another team, then ABCP. No body fat test, no fitness-score exemption
Marine Corps	0.52 or less	Body fat evaluation. Marines scoring 285+ on both the PFT and CFT get a body fat allowance capped at 26% (men) and 36% (women) (Stars and Stripes)
Navy	Below 0.55 (Task & Purpose)	Set by the Navy’s Physical Readiness Program guidance; not covered here
Air Force and Space Force	0.55 (Task & Purpose)	In July 2026 the Air Force said the ratios it was collecting were a baseline and would not count toward fitness scores (Air Force Times)

The 0.03 gap between the Army and Marine Corps looks small, but in inches it is 0.03 × height. Using the table above, that comes to 1.80 inches at 5’0”, 1.92 at 5’4”, 2.10 at 5’10” and 2.22 at 6’2”. Task & Purpose described the gap as “between 2 and 3 inches”. Our numbers put it at about 2 inches for most people, and under 2 inches at 5’6½” and shorter.

If you are training for another branch, the Navy PRT standards and USMC CFT guides cover their fitness tests.

Evidence check: is 0.55 a good line?

The Army calls WHtR “medically validated.” Here is what the research supports and where the Army’s version departs from it.

• WHtR predicts health risk better than BMI: supported. A 2012 meta-analysis of 31 studies and more than 300,000 adults found WHtR was better than both BMI and waist circumference at flagging diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, in men and women (Ashwell, Gunn and Gibson, Obesity Reviews).
• 0.55 is a lenient cutoff by public-health standards. NICE classifies 0.40–0.49 as healthy, 0.50–0.59 as “increased health risks” and 0.60+ as high (NG246). The usual advice is to keep your waist under half your height (Ashwell and Gibson, BMJ Open 2016). The Army’s 0.55 sits in the middle of NICE’s “increased” band.
• In military data, performance starts dropping near 0.50. A 2026 study by Army (USARIEM), Navy and Marine Corps researchers looked at 2,153 active-duty Marines. WHtR correlated strongly with DXA-measured body fat (r = 0.75 in men, 0.68 in women), and fitness test scores showed “a clear inflection” between WHtR values of about 0.48 and 0.50 (Potter et al., European Journal of Clinical Nutrition).
• The tape test was slightly more accurate. In the same study the tape test identified high body fat a little better than WHtR (AUC 0.889 vs. 0.851 in men, 0.876 vs. 0.848 in women). The authors suggested 0.50 as a screening threshold, followed by a secondary test such as bioelectrical impedance. The Army did the opposite on both counts: a higher cutoff and no second test.
• Muscle no longer counts against you, mostly. Weight is out of the calculation, and the old tables drew complaints that they flagged heavily muscled Soldiers. A tape at the navel still measures everything under it, though, not only fat.

Bottom line: for most Soldiers, passing at 0.55 is a low bar from a health point of view. Getting under 0.50 is a better long-term goal, and the Potter data suggest it pays off on fitness tests too.

How to bring your waist measurement down

Three findings matter more than any specific workout:

1. Crunches will not shrink your waist. In a six-week trial, adults did seven ab exercises, 2 sets of 10 reps, five days a week. Their waist circumference, belly fat and body fat percentage did not change; only their ab endurance improved (Vispute et al. 2011). Our lower ab exercises guide covers what ab training does do.
2. Aerobic exercise cuts visceral (deep belly) fat, even without dieting. A meta-analysis of 15 studies with 852 overweight adults found moderate or high-intensity aerobic training had the most potential to reduce it (Vissers et al. 2013).
3. Weight loss shrinks it most, but exercise helps even when the scale doesn’t move. In a 3-month trial in obese men, both weight-loss groups lost 7.5 kg (8%) and reduced abdominal and visceral fat. A third group exercised without losing weight and still lost abdominal and visceral fat (Ross et al. 2000).

In practice that means a modest calorie deficit, regular running or other aerobic work, and strength training to keep your muscle while you lose fat. The calisthenics for weight loss plan gives you circuits for the strength side, and the calisthenics diet guide covers protein and meals. Since the AFT still counts, keep training its events too, like the hand-release push-up.

Track your waist with the four-step method above every two weeks rather than daily. Tape placement and breathing change a reading, which is one reason the Army averages three.

Caveats on this page

• The policy is on probation. The Army is running a 180-day assessment of the standard “to evaluate its accuracy, fairness and impact on readiness” and may refine it. Check the Army Body Composition Program page before relying on these numbers.
• The FAQ has a typo. The Army’s FAQ calls the policy “Army Directive 2026-06.” The signed directive and its subject line say 2026-13.
• Height rounding is not fully spelled out. DA Form 5500 says height is recorded “up to the nearest 0.50 inch” and gives no further detail. The table above assumes your height is recorded at the half inch shown.
• The other branches are still settling. The Navy and Air Force entries rely on news reporting rather than the service instructions, and the Air Force’s approach changed during 2026. Check your own service’s current guidance.
• AR 600-9 has not been rewritten yet. The directive gives the Army two years to fold these rules into AR 600-9 and AR 600-8-2. Until then, the directive overrides the regulation wherever they conflict.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Army height and weight standards in 2026?

There are no height and weight tables anymore. Since July 2026, Army Directive 2026-13 makes the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) the only body composition standard: waist at the navel divided by height, both in inches, must be below 0.55. The same number applies to men and women of every age.

What is the maximum waist size for the Army?

Multiply your height in inches by 0.55; your waist must be below that number. For 5’4” (64 inches) the limit is 35.2 inches, for 5’10” (70 inches) it is 38.5 inches, and for 6’0” (72 inches) it is 39.6 inches. Because readings are taken in half inches, the highest single reading that passes at 5’10” is 38 inches.

Is the Army tape test gone?

Yes. Army Directive 2026-13 rescinded the circumference-based tape test and all supplemental body fat assessments. A Soldier who fails the WHtR gets a confirmation measurement by a different team on the same duty day, but cannot ask for a tape test, DXA scan or any other method to challenge the result.

Does a high AFT score exempt you from body composition?

Not anymore. The 465-point AFT exemption from Army Directive 2025-17 was rescinded on 1 July 2026. The directive says no AFT score exempts a Soldier from the WHtR standard.

How does the Army measure the waist for WHtR?

At the navel, in inches. DA Form 5500 (July 2026) says to round each reading down to the nearest half inch, take three readings, average them, then divide by height. The ratio is cut off at three decimal places without rounding, so 0.549 passes and 0.550 fails.

What happens if you fail the Army waist-to-height ratio?

You are flagged and enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program until you meet the standard. Active-duty and AGR Soldiers get a commander-requested medical exam. Monthly progress checks were dropped, and no Soldier will be separated for WHtR failure until the Army finishes a 180-day assessment of the new standard.

Do Army recruits have to meet the waist-to-height ratio?

Yes. Goarmy.com says the WHtR replaced the height and weight requirements for enlisted and officer applicants. Applicants who miss it at MEPS may be eligible for the 90-day fitness track of the Future Soldier Preparatory Course.

Sources

• Army Directive 2026-13, Army Body Composition Program and Standards, 1 July 2026 (copy hosted by Fort Carson, home.army.mil)
• Army Body Composition Program and Standards: FAQ, effective 7 July 2026 (army.mil, PDF)
• DA Form 5500, Army Body Composition Screening and Assessment Worksheet, July 2026 (army.mil, PDF)
• Army modifies body composition program, adopts waist-to-height ratio, 7 July 2026 (MyArmyBenefits)
• Eligibility and Requirements to Join, waist-to-height ratio chart (goarmy.com)
• New directive exempts Soldiers who score 540+ on the ACFT from body fat assessment, 16 March 2023 (army.mil)
• Army publishes new body fat assessment guidance, 12 June 2023 (army.mil)
• IG Update: Army body fat assessment, one-site tape test from 8 June 2024 (Army Inspector General, PDF)
• Army exempts Soldiers who score 465+ on the AFT from body fat standards, 10 September 2025 (army.mil)
• Pentagon announces new approach to how the military will measure troops’ body fat, 13 January 2026 (Stars and Stripes)
• Marine Corps revises how to measure body fat, goes slightly slimmer than Pentagon policy, 27 February 2026 (Stars and Stripes)
• Army rolls out rules on waist-to-height body standards, 7 July 2026 (Task & Purpose)
• Airmen’s waist-to-height ratios not to be scored in physical fitness assessments, 27 July 2026 (Air Force Times)
• NICE guideline NG246, Overweight and obesity management: identifying and assessing central adiposity
• Ashwell M, Gunn P, Gibson S. Waist-to-height ratio is a better screening tool than waist circumference and BMI for adult cardiometabolic risk factors. Obesity Reviews, 2012
• Ashwell M, Gibson S. Waist-to-height ratio as an indicator of “early health risk”. BMJ Open, 2016
• Potter AW, Christopoulos CL, Cialdella-Kam L, Friedl KE. A waist-to-height ratio of 0.50 marks declining physical performance in active adults. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2026
• Vispute SS et al. The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2011
• Vissers D et al. The effect of exercise on visceral adipose tissue in overweight adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 2013
• Ross R et al. Reduction in obesity and related comorbid conditions after diet-induced weight loss or exercise-induced weight loss in men. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2000