Navy formula for BF%

[ItsHectic]

I was really unsure where to put this thread as it didnt match any criteria apart from General discussion, but seeing as though its a science or theory I will put it here but mods feel very free to move it.

I came across a way to check BF% called the Navy formula, I tested it on myself and my cousin we both have different builds and he also had a caliper test done that week and for him on that instance the navy formula proved to be almost identical(within 1%) to the caliper test.

What you do is measure the circumference of your neck below your adam's apple, and measure your waist along your belly button, input your height and it gives you your BF%.

The link I have included has input for weight and activity level but these are not for the BF% part but for the BMR part which is something else, so you can disregard those fields and input whatever numbers you like. Women have a different formula and I am not sure of its accuracy.

Diet Calculator, Body Fat Calculator

 

[Rosie Chee]

You must have just been lucky then.

I did this, just to see what happened and it was completely INaccurate; it had me out by 12% BF! I tried again, inputting measurements that I was when I was 8% BF and it was still was inaccurate, by 9% BF! I have my body composition taken by the one of the top ISAK anthropometrists in the world; therefore I KNOW that the results I get are a reliable and fairly accurate indicator of what I am. I also know that using girths is NOT an accurate measure of body composition, just the same as calculating BMI is highly inaccurate in saying whether one is 'underweight', 'normal weight', or 'overweight'.

~Rosie
Team APPNUT

 

[CopyCat]

As a Navy Corpsman (medic) let me chime in on this for you. This is the way we measure body fat, BUT it is NOT really that accurate. There may be a few cases where things coincide the same, but they are just coincidences. Believe me, calipers and of course H20 buoyancy are preferred. What we do in the Navy and Marine Corps is have a weight to height ratio and if someone weighs more than what is given for their hight, we tape them. If from the tape they are found to be within or not within BF standards appropriate actions are taken. That being said it works for us in a general sense, but I've seen guys have to request a buoyancy test to prove they were actually within standards and not get kicked out. By all means use it for rough guestimations though.

 

[CopyCat]

... And Rosie is absolutely correct in her statements regarding girth and BMI etc.

 

[dpfisher]

It gave me 11.4% and I can't see my abs.

 

[CrazyChemist]

It gave me 11.4% and I can't see my abs.

it gave me 15% and i'm 11% by caliper test saturday.

 

[SRS2000]

The Air Force used this as a body composition assessment up until a few years ago. They typically use it because it is cheap and easy to perform. If you average the results over a very large group of people, it is reasonably accurate compared to underwater weighing. The problem is that the military applies it to individual people, even though the results aren't particularly accurate for a random individual. If you happen to have a large neck to go with your large waist you are OK, while someone with natural proportions with a smaller neck can have problems.
Unfortunately, you aren't likely to get an individual exemption so you have to do what you need to in order to pass the test.