Army Body Composition Program

Service Members who exceed the Army’s height/weight standards and incur a "flag" on their records must be referred to the Army Body Composition Program (ABCP). Per AR-600-9, both the Service Member and unit must follow the steps below to ensure that active service members eventually meet height-weight standards. Once notification counseling of enrollment in ABCP has occurred the Soldier:

1. Must read the online U.S. Army Public Health Command (USAPHC) Technical Guide (TG) 358 within 14 days of enrollment and schedule an appointment with a dietitian, if available, or health care provider.
2. Must complete and return their Soldier Action Plan (SAP; refer to para b, below) to the commander within 14 days of the notification counseling.
3. Are required to meet with a dietitian or health care provider within 30 days of enrollment in the ABCP, bring a copy of the commander’s request for nutrition counseling (fig 3–2) and their Soldier Action Plan to the dietitian for review, and provide the commander a memorandum signed by the dietitian (or health care provider if a dietitian is not available) verifying that the nutritional counseling took place.
4. Must participate in unit monthly ABCP assessments to document their progress.
5. Must meet the body fat standard in order to be released from the ABCP.
6. Must demonstrate satisfactory progress, as defined in paragraph 3–9b, while enrolled in the ABCP and understand that failure to do so will result in bar to reenlistment or initiation of separation proceedings.
7. May request a medical examination if there is reason to believe that there is an underlying medical condition that may be the direct cause of weight gain or the direct cause of the inability to lose weight or body fat.

If a Soldier is attending Fit For Performance Session 1 for their initial counseling, they will receive instructions during the class on how to submit their SAP for review and receive their nutrition counseling memo; both will be done through email. The SAP needs to have the office symbol, a date within 6 months, and be signed by both the Soldier and Commander prior to being reviewed by the dietitian.

As a reminder, no referral is needed to make an appointment to attend the classes. Please the Central Appointment Management Office at 210-916-9900 or the Community and Outpatient Nutrition Clinic directly at 210-808-3609/-2232 to schedule your appointment. The class calendar and Fit for Performance Weight Loss Strategies series schedule is available under the ‘Outpatient Appointments & Classes’ tab.