Air Force: Waist-to-Height Ratio Required by July 31 Will Not Be Scored

Active-Duty Airmen only have a few days left to submit an official waist-to-height ratio into the Air Force’s new online application. But the service clarified July 23 that this first body composition measurement is not meant to be scored as part of the new Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment, or PFRA

The update follows a  July 13 message from Air Force Chief of Staff Kenneth S. Wilsbach directing all Active Airmen to have a current body composition measurement in the myBodyComp app by July 31. Air Guard and Reserve Airmen must complete the requirement by Aug. 31.

Wilsbach’s message led to some confusion on social media, because the new PFRA, which started rolling out July 1, has a body composition measurement as a scored component—leading some to question if this measurement would be scored.

In its release, the Air Force said the July 31 requirement “is a one-time biometric data collection that establishes a baseline for the modernized Physical Fitness Readiness Program, which took effect July 1. The measurement is not part of the Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment and will not affect fitness scores, test currency or other personnel actions.”

The service rolled out the new PRFA last fall, including a requirement for Airmen to take the test twice a year. The assessment features different exercise options for measuring muscular strength and core endurance as well as a body composition portion. The measurement requires Airmen to divide their waist length by their height in inches. This component will count for 20 percent of the total score.

The Air Force just completed a three-month diagnostic period for the new PFRA on June 30, which gave Airmen a chance to try out the new test and keep their scores if they were satisfied with them.

Airmen who completed a measurement during the diagnostic period and retained the assessment as official “do not need to reassess; those measurements carry over automatically,” the new announcement states. Airmen whose diagnostic scores were purged or who have no score entered since March 1 “must complete a new measurement before the deadline.” A purged score documented on a hardcopy AF Form 4446 signed by both the assessment administrator and the Airmen may be applied toward the requirement, the announcement added.

Waist-to-height ratio measurements should be conducted by trained PFRA administrators or fitness assessment cell personnel, the announcement states. The process involves measuring the Airmen’s waist at the midpoint between the bottom rib and the top of the hip bone and then comparing it against height to determine the ratio.

The Air Force has now officially launched myBodyComp app as the service’s official tool for logging weight-to-height ratio, according to the announcement, which added that myFitness will remain the system of record for physical fitness and readiness assessment scores.

Airmen with a “full medical exemption documented on an AF Form 469, a pregnancy or postpartum exemption, or a composite exemption tied to an approved retirement or separation within 12 months” are not required to complete the measurement, the announcement states.

Partial exemptions for individual fitness components, such as the run or push-ups, “do not exempt a member from the body composition assessment requirement” unless a medical provider specifies otherwise, according to the announcement.

“The Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR) assessment is an important component of our overall fitness program and provides commanders another tool to understand the readiness and health of the force,” Wilsbach wrote in his July 9 message.

Both Wilsbach and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David R. Wolfe have continued to stress the importance of Airmen fitness.