Body Fat Percentage

Across the services, the maximum allowed BMI is generally in the range of 26-28 for men and 25-27 for women. There are variations across the services in standards for body fat percentage in new recruits. Each service permits a higher percent body fat for women than men. The maximum allowable percent body fat is lowest in the Marine Corps, which allows no greater than 18% for men and 26% for women. In contrast, the maximum allowable percent body fat by the Army increases with age from 26% to 30% for men and 32% to 36% for women. In recent years, the military has battled to develop more accurate ways on how to measure fitness for service members. The military has been using weight-for-height, in part because it is easy to calculate, but it