Body Fat Formula

How to calculate body fat percentage? There are several ways to calculate body fat percentage. This site uses the formula employed by the US Department of Defense, which is the circumference method. This means that you use the circumference of several of you body parts as an input to this formula. The formula is as follows:

Metric Units

Male: Body Fat Percentage = 86.010 x log10 (Abdomen Circumference (cm) - Neck Circumference (cm)) - 70.041 x log10 (Height (cm)) + 36.76

Female: Body Fat Percentage = 163.205 x log10 (Waist Circumference (cm) + Hip Circumference (cm) - Neck Circumference (cm)) - 97.684 x log10 (Height (cm)) - 78.387

English Units

Male: Body Fat Percentage = 86.010 x log10(Abdomen Circumference (in) - Neck Circumference (in)) - 70.041 x log10 (Height (in)) + 30.30

Female: Body Fat Percentage = 163.205 x log10 (Waist Circumference (in) + Hip Circumference (in) - Neck Circumference (in)) - 97.684 x log10 (Height (in)) - 104.912

Examples 1: A male who is 170 cm, has a abdomen circumference of 95 cm and a neck circumference of 40 cm has a body fat percentage of

Body Fat Percentage = 86.010 x log10 (95 - 40) - 70.041 x log10 (170) + 36.76 = 23.8%

Example 2: A female who is 5'6", has a waist circumference of 32", a neck circumference of 17", and a hip circumference of 38" has a body fat percentage of

Body Fat Percentage = 163.205 x log10 (32 + 38 - 17) - 97.684 x log10 (66) - 78.387 = 27.9%