Body fat for females aged 60 to 69
The Navy method turns tape measurements into a body fat percentage. Use the form for your own numbers, or read the example for a woman in her 60s with a 32 inch waist, a 39 inch hip and a 13.5 inch neck.
How it works
The page measures everything in inches. It takes log10 of waist plus hip minus neck, multiplies by 163.205, subtracts 97.684 times log10 of height and subtracts 78.387. That is the female Navy estimate. This female page uses 64 inches for height, 32 for the waist and 13.5 for the neck.
Worked example
Say a woman in her 60s is 5 ft 4 in tall with a 32 inch waist, a 39 inch hip and a 13.5 inch neck. Start with waist plus hip minus neck: 57.5 inches. Log: 1.75967. Times 163.205: 287.187. Height log for 64 inches: 1.80618. Times 97.684: 176.435. Then 287.187 − 176.435 − 78.387 = 32.37, or 32.4 percent. That falls in the obesity range.
Common questions
Why does the waist matter more than weight?
Waist size reflects fat carried around the middle, while body weight cannot tell fat from muscle. For a woman in her 60s, a waist of 32 inches against a height of 64 inches gives a waist-to-height ratio of 0.50.
Can I enter centimeters?
Yes. Switch the units and the page converts everything to inches before it does the math. For a woman in her 60s at 5 ft 4 in, a waist of 32 inches is 81.3 cm and a neck of 13.5 inches is 34.3 cm.
How accurate is the Navy method?
It is an estimate. It is usually within a few percentage points of more precise methods, and careful measuring matters. For a woman in her 60s at 5 ft 4 in, a reading of 32.4 percent could be a few points higher or lower in practice.
Where do I place the tape?
Measure the neck just below the larynx. For men measure the waist at the navel. For women measure the waist at its narrowest point and the hips at their widest. Keep the tape snug and level without squeezing. For a woman in her 60s at 5 ft 4 in the waist number is 32 inches and the neck number is 13.5 inches.
Does age change the result?
The formula does not use age. The same measurements give the same estimate at any age. A woman in her 60s at 5 ft 4 in with a 32 inch waist, a 39 inch hip and a 13.5 inch neck gets 32.4 percent.