Body Fat Calculator

What is Body Fat Percentage?

Body fat percentage is the proportion of your total body weight that comes from fat tissue, as opposed to lean mass (muscle, bones, organs, water, and minerals). Unlike BMI, which only considers height and weight, body fat percentage provides a more accurate picture of your body composition and overall health. Two people with identical height and weight can have dramatically different body fat percentages — one might be muscular and lean while the other carries excess fat. This is why body fat percentage is considered a superior health metric for assessing fitness and metabolic health.

Body fat serves essential functions including energy storage, hormone production, insulation, and protection of organs. However, excess body fat, particularly visceral fat stored around the abdomen, is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and metabolic syndrome. Understanding your body fat percentage helps you set realistic fitness goals and track progress more accurately than weight alone, especially when engaging in strength training programs where muscle gain can offset fat loss on the scale.

There are several methods to measure body fat, each with varying degrees of accuracy and cost. DEXA scans provide the most accurate measurement but are expensive and require specialized equipment. Hydrostatic weighing and air displacement plethysmography (Bod Pod) are also highly accurate but not widely accessible. Skinfold calipers, when used by trained professionals, offer good accuracy at moderate cost. The U.S. Navy method, used in our calculator, provides a convenient and reasonably accurate estimate using only a tape measure, making it accessible to anyone at home.

The U.S. Navy Body Fat Formula

All measurements in centimeters. The formula estimates body density, then converts to body fat percentage using the Siri equation: BF% = (495 / Body Density) - 450.

Body Fat Percentage Categories