Body Fat Calculator to Find Your Healthy Goal Weight

Use our calculator to estimate your body fat percentage and find your goal weight for a healthy body fat range. Choose from seven estimation methods, including AI-powered photo analysis, the U.S. Navy, Covert Bailey, Jackson-Pollock, and Durnin-Womersley formulas, and a BMI-based estimate.

The calculator integrates your results with charts developed by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the WHO/NIH, and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). 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.

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-based method for a rough estimate based on your height, weight, sex and age.

BMI-Based Estimation Method

The BMI-Based estimation method estimates body fat percentage based on your BMI, age, and sex. BMI is derived from your height and weight. Among the available methods in this calculator, it is the least accurate and is not suitable for athletic or muscular individuals, as BMI cannot differentiate between muscle and fat. For example, someone with high muscle mass may have the same BMI as a sedentary person of the same height and weight, leading to an overestimation of their body fat.

However, this method is more than just a basic BMI lookup. It employs the CUN-BAE equation. This equation considers that body fat increases with age and varies significantly between males and females at the same BMI. It was tested on over 6,500 adults and shown to outperform other equations using similar inputs (BMI, age, and sex) in estimating actual body fat.

This method is most suited for adults of Caucasian descent and is most accurate for individuals in the overweight to obese range. It may slightly underestimate body fat in leaner individuals. Use this method when you do not have measuring tools available and need a reasonable estimate based solely on height and weight measurements.

AI Photo Analysis Method

Our 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 method is one of the most popular tape-measure approaches for estimating body fat at home. It requires only a flexible measuring tape and delivers results within approximately ±3.5% of your actual body fat for most adults, making it a reliable, no-equipment alternative to skinfold calipers or lab testing.

The method uses a small set of circumference measurements combined with your height. Men need two measurements: the neck and abdomen (at the navel). Women need three: the neck, natural waist (just above the navel), and hips (at the widest point). These are plugged into logarithmic equations to produce a body fat estimate.

This method works well for most adults of average build who want a quick, repeatable way to track body fat over time. It is less accurate for muscular or athletic individuals, as the formula does not account for the effect of muscle development on circumference measurements.

The formula was developed by James Hodgdon and M.B. Beckett at the Naval Health Research Center in 1984 and later formalized in the Development of the DoD Body Composition Estimation Equations (1999). It served as the single Department of Defense fitness standard across all military branches from 2002 until the DoD transitioned to the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as its primary screening tool in January 2026, with the Hodgdon equations retained as a secondary measure.

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.