AR 600-9 Explained

AR 600-9 — The Army Body Composition Program — is the foundational regulation for how the Army assesses, records, and manages soldier body composition: the standard itself, who is exempt, how measurements are taken, what happens after a failed assessment, and how it all affects a soldier’s career.

The regulation has been substantially amended by Army Directive 2026-13, which took effect July 7, 2026 and made the Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR) the sole authorized assessment method. This page summarizes what AR 600-9 covers and what changed — in plain English, without inventing paragraph numbers we have not verified against the current PDF.

What AR 600-9 covers

• Definitions — the terms the program runs on: ABCP (the Army Body Composition Program itself), body-composition assessment, the ABCP counselor role, supplemental assessment, recording window, and watch period.
• Roles and responsibilities — who does what: the chain of command, unit ABCP counselors, and medical personnel, including who takes and records official measurements.
• The assessment method — since July 7, 2026, the Waist-to-Height Ratio: waist ÷ height, threshold 0.55, gender- and age-neutral.
• Exemptions and accommodation — situations such as pregnancy and postpartum, certain medical conditions, and specific personnel statuses that pause routine assessment.
• Supplemental assessment — options such as DXA, InBody 770, and BOD POD for soldiers who want a second look at a flagged result.
• Re-measurement and appeals — how a soldier contests a result and on what timeline.
• Career consequences — flagging, non-promotable status, school and re-enlistment restrictions, and separation triggers when a soldier fails to make progress.

What changed under Army Directive 2026-13

• The assessment method changed. WHtR (waist ÷ height < 0.55) replaced everything else as the sole authorized method, effective July 7, 2026.
• The height/weight screening tables were rescinded. Weight alone no longer triggers a tape test — the tables survive only as historical reference in our archive calculator.
• Both tape-test eras ended. The multi-site tape (AR 600-9 Appendix B, Figures B-1 and B-2, used before June 2024) and the single-site abdomen tape (June 2024 – July 2026) are both rescinded — preserved in our single-site and multi-site archive calculators.

One caution when reading older copies of AR 600-9: the PDF that circulates most widely predates the directive. Its screening tables and tape-test appendices no longer describe the current standard — always check whether a claim predates July 7, 2026, and verify against armyresilience.army.mil.

Where to find each topic on this site

Source

Source: AR 600-9, The Army Body Composition Program, as amended by Army Directive 2026-13 (effective July 7, 2026). The current PDF and the directive are linked on the Sources page. Paragraph-level citations will be added only after direct verification against the current PDF.

Related

• WHtR calculator — the current standard, with a working estimate
• Army Directive 2026-13 Explained
• All standards explained — the standards hub
• ABCP Process: What Happens If You Fail — publishing soon

Questions this summary does not answer should go to your unit ABCP counselor, or to the official resources at armyresilience.army.mil.