The Army waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) standard, explained

Published October 18, 2026

Quick answer: Under Army Directive 2026-13 (July 2026), the Army judges body composition only by waist-to-height ratio (WHtR): your waist at the belly button divided by your height. You need a ratio below 0.55, checked at least twice a year. At 0.55 or higher, once a second team confirms it the same day, you’re flagged and enrolled in the Army Body Composition Program (ABCP).

FPKT, a free app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, works out your waist-to-height ratio from your waist readings and height, keeps it in your history, and fills in DA Form 5500.

The Army waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is now the only body composition standard for Soldiers. Army Directive 2026-13, signed 1 July 2026, replaced the height and weight tables and the tape test with one number: your waist, measured at the belly button, divided by your height. Stay under 0.55 and you meet the standard. Here’s exactly how it works, including the maximum waist for your height.

What changed in July 2026

WHtR is the only standard. The height and weight screening tables are gone.
No tape test. The circumference-based tape test and other body fat checks can’t be used to challenge a WHtR result.
At least twice a year. Every Soldier is measured at least twice per calendar year, and commanders can order a measurement any time they think a Soldier may not meet the standard.
No AFT exemption. A high Army Fitness Test score no longer exempts you (more on that below).
A week apart from the AFT. Units have to allow at least 7 days between your AFT or Combat Field Test (CFT) and your WHtR measurement, unless your commander shortens it for urgent operational needs.
New paperwork. WHtR is recorded on DA Form 5500 and in the Army Training Information System (ATIS). DA Form 5501 is gone. The directive gave units 90 days, until 29 September 2026, to record a WHtR for every Soldier.

If you’ve seen this policy called “Army Directive 2026-06” with an effective date of 7 July 2026, that’s from the Army’s own FAQ sheet. The signed directive is Army Directive 2026-13, dated 1 July 2026, and it took effect immediately.

What is the Army WHtR standard?

Your WHtR has to be less than 0.55. A ratio of exactly 0.55 does not meet it. The ratio is written to three decimal places and never rounded up: anything past the third decimal is dropped. So 0.549 passes and 0.550 fails.

For example, a Soldier who is 70 inches tall with a 38-inch waist has a ratio of 0.542 and meets the standard. At a 38.5-inch waist, the same Soldier is at 0.550 and doesn’t.

Maximum waist for your height

The Army’s measurement instructions include a screening chart with the largest waist, in half-inch steps, that still meets the standard at each height, from 48 to 83.5 inches. Here it is for common heights:

Height (inches)	Max waist (inches)	Ratio
60	32.5	0.541
61	33.5	0.549
62	34	0.548
63	34.5	0.547
64	35	0.546
65	35.5	0.546
66	36	0.545
67	36.5	0.544
68	37	0.544
69	37.5	0.543
70	38	0.542
71	39	0.549
72	39.5	0.548
73	40	0.547
74	40.5	0.547
75	41	0.546
76	41.5	0.546

If your average waist is at or under the chart number, you pass. Half an inch over puts you at 0.55 or above. Height is recorded to the nearest half inch, so if yours ends in a half, use the full chart in Annex A: at 70.5 inches, for example, the limit is 38.5, not the 39 shown for 71.

How your waist and height are measured

The Army’s measurement instructions (Annex A to EXORD 182-26) spell out the method:

Height: in socks, no shoes, standing straight with your chin level, rounded to the nearest half inch.
Waist: at the navel (belly button), with the tape parallel to the floor, starting on your right side. The tape touches the skin without squeezing it.
Three readings: the waist is measured three times, and each reading is rounded down to the nearest half inch. If one reading is more than an inch off the other two, a fourth is taken and the three closest are used. DA Form 5500 says to average the three readings and divide by your height. Annex A says that when a fourth reading is taken, the average is rounded to the nearest half inch. A borderline result can depend on which way your unit records it.
What you wear: socks and the Army physical fitness uniform trunks and T-shirt. Undergarments that bind the abdomen aren’t allowed. You can lift the shirt and tuck it into the collar; taking it off is up to you.
Who measures: two people, Army noncommissioned officers (NCOs) or higher, or trained Department of the Army civilians. One places and reads the tape, and the other checks placement and tension and records the readings on DA Form 5500. You should be measured by someone of the same sex or, if no one is available, by someone of the opposite sex with a Soldier of your sex present.
The tape: non-stretch, preferably fiberglass, a quarter to half an inch wide. Cloth and steel tapes aren’t allowed.

If a skin fold hides the navel, the measurer marks where it is on the outside of the fold and measures around the outermost point across that mark. If there’s no navel, the waist is measured 2 inches above the hip bone.

What happens if you’re 0.55 or higher

A second measurement. A different team measures you again on the same duty day, before your commander takes any action.
Flag and ABCP. If you’re still at 0.55 or higher, you’re flagged and enrolled in the ABCP.
A medical check. In the Regular Army and Active Guard Reserve (AGR), your commander requests a medical exam to rule out a medical cause. Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers can request one if they think a medical condition is the cause; if you’re not on active duty, you pay for it.
Getting out of ABCP. The old monthly checks and progress requirements are gone. Your leaders decide when to measure you again, and you’re removed from the program as soon as you meet the standard.

The Army is running a 180-day assessment of the standard to check its accuracy and fairness. Units can start separation actions for Soldiers flagged for failing ABCP, but no Soldier will be separated until Headquarters, Department of the Army finishes that assessment and puts out further guidance. Existing medical exemptions for pregnant and postpartum Soldiers stay in place.

Does a high AFT score still exempt you?

No. The old exemption for Soldiers who scored 465 or higher on the AFT was rescinded, and the directive says no AFT score exempts a Soldier from the WHtR standard. If you’re working on your score anyway, here’s how the AFT is scored.

Who the standard applies to

All Soldiers in the Regular Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve, plus cadets at the U.S. Military Academy and in Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). It also applies to retention actions and to Army schools and training courses.