Body Fat Calculator

For men: essential fat 2–5%, athletes 6–13%, fitness 14–17%, average 18–24%, obese 25%+. For women: essential fat 10–13%, athletes 14–20%, fitness 21–24%, average 25–31%, obese 32%+. Women naturally carry more body fat due to hormonal needs and reproductive function. These ranges are from the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

The US Navy circumference method (using waist, neck, and hip measurements) has a margin of error of about 3–4% compared to DEXA scans. It's less precise than DEXA (dual X-ray), hydrostatic weighing, or air displacement plethysmography, but it's free, requires no equipment, and is accurate enough to track trends over time when measurements are taken consistently.

For the Navy method, measure the abdomen at its widest point (usually at the navel level) while relaxed and after exhaling — do not pull in your stomach. For women, also measure the hips at the widest point. Neck measurement: at the narrowest point, typically just below the larynx. Take measurements three times and use the average.

Body fat percentage is generally more informative than BMI because it directly measures the fat-to-lean ratio. A person can have a normal BMI but high body fat (skinny-fat) or a high BMI but low body fat (muscular). The limitation of circumference-based body fat estimates is that they don't distinguish between subcutaneous fat (under skin) and more dangerous visceral fat (around organs).