Body Fat Calculator: Find Your Body Fat % and Healthy Target Weight

Use this body fat calculator to determine your body fat percentage and how much you would need to weigh for a healthy amount of body fat. You can select from several estimation methods, including an AI-powered photo analysis, the U.S. Navy, Covert Bailey, Jackson-Pollock, Durnin-Womersley, and an estimate from BMI.

The calculator integrates your results with charts developed by three well-known health and fitness organizations. They will show your status at your current weight. You can then plan for a goal weight to put yourself in a desirable healthy body fat percentage range.

What is a good body fat percentage?

Generally, a good body fat percentage range for women is 21 to 35 percent, and for men, it's 8 to 24 percent depending on age. Your resting metabolic rate changes as you age; fat mass increases while muscle mass decreases. Thus, the low end of the range would apply to younger adults and then trend upwards with age. The range values were derived from a study by Dympna Gallagher et al. on a new approach for developing healthy body fat percentage ranges for adults. It links healthy body mass index (BMI) guidelines with predicted body fat percentages.

How to Estimate Body Fat?

Accurate means of measuring body fat exist, such as Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), air-displacement plethysmography (Bod Pod), and hydrostatic weighing. While highly precise, these methods can be expensive, time-consuming, and require a visit to a specialized facility.

This body fat calculator provides a quick and reasonable estimate of your body composition in the comfort of your own home. Depending on your preference and the tools you have available, you can choose from three primary approaches:

• AI Photo Analysis (Most Convenient): Utilizing modern computer vision, our AI-powered method analyzes front and side-profile photos to estimate body fat based on visual markers like muscle definition, abdominal depth, and fat distribution. This is the fastest method and requires no physical tools.
• Circumference/Tape Methods: The U.S. Navy and Covert Bailey methods use a flexible measuring tape to calculate body fat based on the circumferences of specific areas like the waist, neck, and hips.
• Skinfold Caliper Methods: Techniques like the Jackson-Pollock (3, 4, or 7-site) and Durnin-Womersley formulas use skinfold calipers to measure subcutaneous fat at various points on the body.

You can choose an estimation method from the calculator's drop-down list. If you already know your body fat percentage, you can enter it manually to see how you rank against health charts. If you have no tools at hand, you can use the BMI-derived method for a rough estimate based solely on your height and weight.

BMI (Body Mass Index) Estimation Method

The BMI method is the least accurate, providing only a rough estimate suitable for those who don't want to bother with measuring tapes or skinfold calipers. This method determines your body fat percentage by applying average values derived from a sample of a sedentary population sharing similar age, sex, and BMI characteristics.

AI Photo Analysis Method

The AI Photo Analysis method uses artificial intelligence to estimate your body fat percentage from a photo. Simply upload a front-facing photo of yourself, and the AI will analyze visible body composition markers such as muscle definition, fat distribution patterns, skin fold visibility, and overall body proportions. It cross-references these visual indicators with your height, weight, age, and sex to produce an estimate.

For best results, use even lighting, a plain background, and wear form-fitting or minimal clothing. You can optionally upload a side-profile photo, which allows the AI to also assess abdominal depth, lower back fat deposits, and posture-related fat distribution for a more precise estimate.

The accuracy of the AI Photo Analysis method is within approximately 3–5% with a front photo alone or 2–3% with both front and side photos. No measuring tape or calipers are required. Your photos are not stored, saved, or retained in any way. They are analyzed in real time and immediately discarded.

Circumference Measuring Methods

Circumference measurements, used in the U.S. Navy and Covert Bailey methods, offer an easy and reliable way to measure body fat. Both methods require a flexible and nonstretchable measuring tape to measure the circumferences around specific body areas. All measurements are taken against the bare skin with tape measurements made parallel to the floor with the exact amount of tension at the same spot each time. The tape must be snug against the skin but not enough to compress the underlying soft tissues. All measurements, including height and weight, should be made in thin underclothes and without shoes. Measurements must be taken at the same time of day before any physical activity to provide a consistent estimate to chart your progress.

U.S. Navy Method

The U.S. Navy developed an excellent formula using body circumference measurements to determine the fat content in a person's body. This calculation considers all service members, as they must meet specific percent standards regarding body fat percentage.

Neck, waist and hip circumference measurements are required for women. The hip measurement is not required for men. Waist measurements are taken at the belly button for men and just above the belly button for women. You can click on the help (?) icon next to the input fields in the calculator to get specific details.

The accuracy of the U.S. Navy Body Circumference method is around 3.5% for most people.

Covert Bailey Method

The Covert Bailey Method is named after its creator, fitness expert Covert Bailey. Bailey has been a leading voice in the fitness industry for over 30 years, and countless people worldwide have used Bailey's method of calculating body fat percentage. It's considered one of the most recent formulas to measure body fat.

According to Bailey, for most people, the tape-measure test's accuracy is within 2.0% of the measurement you would get through a hydrostatic weighing or immersion test.

Skinfold Measurement Methods

Personal trainers commonly use skinfold measurements to estimate body fat in local gyms. Using skinfold calipers require some training and experience for maximal efficacy and can predict body fat percentages within plus or minus 3.5 percent of your actual body composition. Generally, the more skinfold sites measured, the greater the accuracy.

Refer to the skinfold caliper manual for instructions. As a general rule, always take skinfold measurements from the right side of the body. Take a minimum of two measurements at each skinfold site. If the two measurements differ by more than 2 mm, take a 3rd. Record the average for the site. Click the help (?) icon next to the input fields for info on the exact location of the skinfold measurement.

Jackson-Pollock 3-Site Skinfold Method

This skinfold method uses simple measurements that you can probably perform yourself. It is reasonably accurate for most people with an average build. However, it underestimates body fat for athletes, bodybuilders, or very lean individuals. The formula uses the chest, abdomen, and thigh for men and the tricep, suprailiac, and thigh for women.

Jackson-Pollock 4-Site Skinfold Method

With this method, the skinfold measurement sites are the same for males and females. Measurements are taken at four sites, making this method slightly more reliable than the three sites, but it loses accuracy for very lean individuals.

Jackson-Pollock 7-Site Skinfold Method

This method produces the most reliable results of the three Jackson-Pollock series of skinfold measurements. The test uses seven skinfold sites, the same for males and females.

Durnin-Womersley Skinfold Method

The Durnin-Womersley method is probably the most popular skinfold measurement method, but it overestimates body fat for very fit individuals. It utilizes four skinfold measurements at the same four skinfold sites for males and females.

Body Fat Percentage Calculation Results

Your results are displayed in three charts, each developed by a leading health organization: the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the WHO/NIH Guidelines, and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Each chart categorizes body fat percentage into ranges such as "Essential Fat," "Athlete," "Fitness," "Average," and "Obese" so you can see exactly where you stand today.

Understanding the Target Weight Column

Each chart includes a Target Weight column showing the weight range you would need to reach to fall into that body fat category. These values are calculated by holding your current lean body mass (LBM) constant — that is, your bones, muscle, organs, and water — and adjusting only the fat portion. For example, if you weigh 180 lb at 30% body fat, the math works like this:

• Step 1 — Find your LBM: 180 lb × (1 − 0.30) = 126 lb
• Step 2 — Find your target weight: 126 lb ÷ (1 − 0.20) = 157.5 lb

In this case, reaching 20% body fat means losing roughly 22 lb of fat while keeping the same lean mass. The calculator does all of this automatically for every category in the chart. Just enter your stats and your target weights are instantly shown.

An Important Caveat

The target weights assume your lean body mass stays fixed throughout your weight loss journey. In practice, LBM does decrease somewhat as you lose weight, though typically less than fat mass. This means your actual target weight may shift over time. It's a good idea to recalculate your body fat percentage periodically and update your target weight as you progress.

To minimize muscle loss on a calorie-restricted diet, prioritize resistance training and adequate protein intake.