To serve in the U.S. Navy, there are many standards to meet, including Navy weight requirements. Even after you’re in the service, twice a year, Navy sailors are weighed and measured to make sure they’re in optimal physical health.
Taking gender and height into consideration, in order to meet these Navy weight requirements, you can’t be overweight or underweight. Usually, this is determined by a simple step on the scale. But, if there is cause for concern, you may also be measured by circumference, body fat percentage, or BMI.
2022 Navy Weight Requirements
The first step in meeting Navy standards is to make sure you don’t exceed the Navy maximum weight requirements. Based on how tall you are and your gender, weight limits not to exceed will vary. Additionally, the standards become less extreme with age while still encouraging a fitness routine and healthy eating habits.
Maximum Navy Weight Requirements
Height | Max Weight for Men Max | Weight for Women |
51” or 4’3” | 97 lbs | 102 lbs |
52” or 4’4” | 102 lbs | 106 lbs |
53” or 4’5” | 107 lbs | 110 lbs |
54” or 4’6” | 112 lbs | 114 lbs |
55” or 4’7” | 117 lbs | 118 lbs |
56” or 4’8” | 122 lbs | 123 lbs |
57” or 4’9” | 127 lbs | 127 lbs |
58” or 4’10” | 131 lbs | 131 lbs |
59” or 4’11” | 136 lbs | 136 lbs |
60” or 5’ | 141 lbs | 141 lbs |
61” or 5’1” | 145 lbs | 145 lbs |
62” or 5’2” | 150 lbs | 149 lbs |
63” or 5’3” | 155 lbs | 152 lbs |
64” or 5’4” | 160 lbs | 156 lbs |
65” or 5’5” | 165 lbs | 160 lbs |
66” or 5’6” | 170 lbs | 163 lbs |
67” or 5’7” | 176 lbs | 167 lbs |
68” or 5’8” | 181 lbs | 170 lbs |
69” or 5’9” | 186 lbs | 174 lbs |
70” or 5’10” | 191 lbs | 177 lbs |
71” or 5’11” | 196 lbs | 181 lbs |
72” or 6’ | 201 lbs | 185 lbs |
73” or 6’1” | 206 lbs | 189 lbs |
74” or 6’2” | 211 lbs | 194 lbs |
75” or 6’3” | 216 lbs | 200 lbs |
76” or 6’4” | 221 lbs | 205 lbs |
77” or 6’5” | 226 lbs | 211 lbs |
78” or 6’6” | 231 lbs | 216 lbs |
79” or 6’7” | 236 lbs | 222 lbs |
80” or 6’8” | 241 lbs | 227 lbs |
81” or 6’9” | 246 lbs | 233 lbs |
82” or 6’10” | 251 lbs | 239 lbs |
83” or 6’11” | 256 lbs | 245 lbs |
84” or 7’ | 261 lbs | 251 lbs |
85” or 7’1” | 266 lbs | 257 lbs |
86” or 7’2” | 271 lbs | 263 lbs |
If you come in overweight for your height and gender, further measures will be taken. For men, the circumference at your abdominal needs to be 39 inches or less while for women it must be 35.5 inches or less to still meet Navy qualifications.
Navy Body Fat Limits
If at this point you’re still not meeting the appropriate requirements, the Navy will then measure your body fat percentage. For men, your body fat percentage can be, at most, 23 percent, using your neck and abdomen. While for women, the maximum is 34 percent, using calculations from your neck, hips, and waist.
Appropriate BMI to Qualify for the Navy
Conversely, if you weigh significantly below the Navy weight standards, you’ll then be subjected to a body fat measurement or BMI scan because, yes, there is actually a minimum weight requirement for the Navy to assure that you’re healthy both in body and mind.
Read also: Navy SEAL Height Requirements
BMI stands for Body Mass Index and it’s a calculation of your weight divided by your height, then squared. We’ll leave the numbers to the experts, but all you need to know is that your BMI gives you a range to aim for. If your BMI comes in under 19, you’ll be further assessed by the Navy.
Based on the average person, a healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 meaning anything lower signals that someone is underweight and anything higher means someone is overweight. To qualify for the Navy, you must have a BMI of at least 17.5 without any signs of psychological problems.
Minimum Navy Weight Requirements
Height | Min Weight at BMI of 19 | Min Weight at BMI 17.5 |
58” or 4’10” | 91 lbs | 84 lbs |
59” or 4’11” | 94 lbs | 87 lbs |
60” or 5’ | 97 lbs | 90 lbs |
61” or 5’1” | 100 lbs | 92 lbs |
62” or 5’2” | 104 lbs | 95 lbs |
63” or 5’3” | 107 lbs | 98 lbs |
64” or 5’4” | 110 lbs | 102 lbs |
65” or 5’5” | 114 lbs | 105 lbs |
66” or 5’6” | 118 lbs | 108 lbs |
67” or 5’7” | 121 lbs | 112 lbs |
68” or 5’8” | 125 lbs | 115 lbs |
69” or 5’9” | 128 lbs | 119 lbs |
70” or 5’10” | 132 lbs | 122 lbs |
71” or 5’11” | 136 lbs | 125 lbs |
72” or 6’ | 140 lbs | 129 lbs |
73” or 6’1” | 144 lbs | 132 lbs |
74” or 6’2” | 148 lbs | 136 lbs |
75” or 6’3” | 152 lbs | 140 lbs |
76” or 6’4” | 156 lbs | 144 lbs |
77” or 6’5” | 160 lbs | 147 lbs |
78” or 6’6” | 164 lbs | 151 lbs |
Overall, you can certainly be too overweight and out of shape to serve in the Navy but you can also be too thin, too tall, or too short. Based on these Navy weight requirements, you’ll now be able to work toward your goals and feel confident in knowing what is required to serve in the U.S. Navy.