The US Navy body fat equation is a regression-based formula developed from decades of body composition data to estimate body fat percentage using simple tape measurements (neck, waist, and hip for women). It provides a low-cost, quick, and repeatable method to track body fat changes over time with reasonable accuracy (within 3-4 percentage points of clinical DEXA scans). This method is widely used by individuals for home fitness tracking due to its ease of use and ability to produce reliable trend data, despite some limitations in absolute accuracy for certain body types.

Jun 6, 2026, 10:00 AM