Navy Body Fat Estimation Technique
The Navy Body Fat Estimation Technique relies on a few simple body measurements to estimate one’s body fat percentage. It is an approximation, reportedly within 3% of more accurate, gold-standard techniques.
If you have recorded the required measurements described below in the Body Measurement Tracker application, your body fat percentage will automatically be estimated using the Navy technique.
Please note that the measurements differ between males and females. For best accuracy, take each measurement 3 times and record the average among the three measurements.
For Females
Height - your height without shoes, standing straight with your head up and eyes forward
Waist - the circumference of your waist at a horizontal at the level of least width
Be careful not to pull in your stomach while measuring
Hips - the circumference around the largest width of your hips
Body Fat Percentage Categories for Females:
14-20% - Athletic
21-24% - Fit
25-31% - Average
>32% - Overweight
For Males
Height - your height without shoes, standing straight with your head up and eyes forward
Waist - the circumference of your waist at a horizontal level at the navel
Be careful not to pull in your stomach while measuring
Neck - the circumference of the neck at the Adam’s apple with the tape measure perpendicular to the long axis of the neck
Keep your head straight and look forward while relaxing your shoulders
Body Fat Percentage Categories for Males:
6-13% - Athletic
14-17% - Fit
18-25% - Average
>26% - Overweight