When determining how much you should weigh, we look at your lean body mass. We cannot assume your age, height or body type. The weight charts your doctor uses are based on all of these factors combined. Such tables were useful until nothing better was available, but today it is clear that they give deviations of ten to fifteen kilograms for each individual. You can have excess weight in accordance with these tables and at the same time - lack of fat. The opposite is also true. We have measured many thin people who, according to these tables, were underweight and at the same time had excess fat. They have no visible subcutaneous fat, but their muscles are covered in fat.

We define ideal weight a person by the size of his skeleton or muscle mass of his body. If you have large bones and muscles, we plan for you to weigh more than a person of the same height who has thin bones and little muscle.

Let's take for example a man three years old. different periods his life. When he is twenty years old, he is in college and is involved in wrestling, gymnastics and weightlifting. All three activities increase muscle mass, and muscle mass body weight is 66 kilograms. He may have 11 kilograms of fat and weigh 77 kilograms.

At age thirty-eight, he is a businessman whose only physical activity, aside from weekend skiing and occasional golf, is running. Running keeps him lean and healthy, but it's not a sport that builds muscle. In fact, since his upper body muscles are not working with his current activities, he will lose some of them. Therefore, he will only have 63 kilograms of lean body mass left. Accordingly, he should not have more than 10 kilograms of fat and weigh more than 73 kilograms. His body adapts remarkably well to its new role. Obviously, a runner does not need the upper developed muscles of a gymnast. Muscle mass decreases, and overall weight should decrease.

Let's take the third situation. Let's assume that our man, now over forty, finds himself in some extreme conditions. For example, two years on the brink of starvation in a prisoner of war camp, or chronic debilitating illness for several years. He will lose a lot of muscle and a lot of fat. At the end of such an ordeal he will be exhausted and skinny. His mother, and perhaps the doctor, will want to fatten him up. I strongly protest. If his muscle mass has decreased to 52 kilograms, he should not have more than 9 kilograms of fat, and his total weight should not exceed 61 kilograms. The only healthy way to regain body weight in such a case is to build up the lost muscle, adding only 15 percent fat. If he eats to gain weight, he will only gain fat weight and end up obese, like most typical fat people - even though he may remain thin.

Many sedentary Americans not only lose muscle mass as they age, but their fat content also increases.

Let's consider the changes in a woman leading a sedentary lifestyle. Let's say that at age twenty she has a healthy 22 percent body fat and weighs 55 kilograms. At thirty-five, she is proud that she has gained only 2 kilograms - and yet she has 30 percent body fat. If you look at the chart on page 36, you'll see that she actually gained 5 kilograms of fat while losing 3 kilograms of muscle. The muscle mass of her body today is only 40 kilograms, and to have 22 percent body fat, she must weigh no more than 51 kilograms.

You see, the term "right weight" is actually quite vague. A person's correct weight changes as the body's lean mass changes. If the woman we looked at exercised, she would be able to restore her body's muscle mass to its original 43 kilograms and thus earn the right to weigh 55 kilograms again. If she doesn't exercise, her correct weight is 51 kilograms.

The amount of muscle mass you have in your body also largely determines how much you should eat. Ultimately, it is muscle mass that burns calories. When you put gas in a car, it is the size of the engine that determines the gas consumption, not the size of the entire car. The fat part of the body does not require calories for any practical activity. You don't need to feed fat calories; fat is calories. Two people can be the same weight, but one may have more fat and therefore less muscle mass than the other. If they both eat the same number of calories, the one with less muscle mass will gain weight. In the next few years, there will be calorie charts that will help you determine how many calories you should eat based on the amount of muscle mass in your body.

When calculating the ideal maximum weight we must start from the active part of the body, which burns calories all day, even when we sleep. We must proceed from the amount of active tissue involved in metabolism, our lean body mass. We then calculate how much fat you can add to your muscle mass to make it 22 percent if you're a woman or 15 percent if you're a man. If you exercise in such a way that your muscle mass increases, then your caloric needs also increase, and you can have more body fat without exceeding the ideal 22 or 15 percent.

Muscle body mass in men depending on their height (height, cm/MW, kg)

165/49-54, 167,5/50-57, 170/51-58, 172,5/54-60, 175/55-62, 177,5/58-66, 180/60-69, 182,5/62-74, 185/64-76, 187,5/65-80, 190/66-83

Muscle body mass in women depending on their height (height, cm/MW, kg)

152,5/32-39, 155/33-40, 157,5/34-41, 160/35-42, 162,5/37-44, 165/38-45, 167,5/39-46, 170/40-48, 172,5/42-49, 175/43-52, 177,5/44-54

This data represents the range of lean body mass of the people I measured who had normal percentage fat - about 15% in men and about 22% in women. Unfortunately, I don't have enough data to give a range for men under 165cm or women over 178cm, so these people will have to estimate their desired muscle mass based on the value closest to their height. You can calculate your ideal total weight by dividing your lean body mass by 0.85 if you are a man and by 0.78 if you are a woman.

K. Bailey

"How to determine normal weight" and other articles from the section

A slim body is beautiful, fashionable and healthy. At least, our time prescribes just such canons. Following them, many people strive to get rid of fat deposits as much as possible.

Why does the body need fat?

You've probably noticed that even with the same weight, some people look fit, while others, to put it mildly, are not ideal. The fact is that the ratio of bone and muscle mass in the body, as well as fat and water, is of key importance. Therefore, when thinking about a good figure, and indeed about health in general, first of all pay attention to the percentage of fat in the body. Please note: not only its excess is harmful, but also its deficiency. After all, fat serves as a source of energy and warms us. It (in particular, subcutaneous fat) protects bones and internal organs. The so-called visceral or essential fat, which surrounds the internal organs, is part of the nervous system. Fat is required for the absorption of vitamins, the synthesis of hormones, and the construction of new cells. Its deficiency negatively affects hair, skin and joints.

“A low percentage of body fat leads to problems with potency in men and with ovulation, conception and regularity menstrual cycle among women".

What percentage of fat is considered ideal?

What is the norm? The answer to this question depends on many factors, ranging from your gender (the percentage of fat in the male body is lower) to your age (it increases over the years). In the table below you can see what fat level will be ideal for you:

According to WHO recommendations, for men 20-40 years old an indicator below 8% is considered “unhealthy”, and for women of the same age the abnormal indicator fluctuates around 18%. The minimum percentage of fat that allows a person to survive is 3-5% for men, 8-13% for women. It must be said that bodybuilders, when preparing for competitions, sometimes reach such figures, but they never maintain such a figure for long. Still, the health risk remains.

How to Measure Body Fat Percentage

Now that you know the parameters, it would be good to understand how well you yourself meet them. There are many methods for measuring body fat. MRI, X-ray scanning, weighing in water and bioimpedance are quite accurate (a special device passes a weak current through the body and calculates the percentage of fat based on the speed of the signal). Special scales work on the same principle, which can often be found in fitness clubs and even purchased for home. It is quite simple, but not so accurate, to measure the amount of fat in the body using a tool called a caliper or an ordinary caliper or even a ruler. Grab the fold of skin on the abdomen with your fingers a little to the side and 5 cm, measure the thickness, and check the result with the table.

Men

Women

Or you can do it even simpler - compare yourself with images of bodies in photographs:

What to Keep in Mind When Assessing Your Body Fat Percentage

Have you discovered that your indicators are not ideal and now you know what to strive for? Be careful and attentive.

“In pursuit of a super-athletic figure, never go beyond the physiological norm of fat content”

However, the problem is that your own norm may differ from the standard one. Each person is individual, which means your personal “healthy” body fat may differ from the average. Therefore, following the chosen weight loss program, monitor the condition of your body. It may also happen that, wanting to show the world not only a wasp waist, but also pumped up abs, a girl will reduce the percentage of body fat, for example, from 18% to 14% and get... menstrual irregularities. The fat indicator is still within the average norm, but the individual characteristics body. Therefore, as soon as you notice any unpleasant symptoms, stop the weight loss program at least temporarily and consult a doctor.

Why medals are given to articles:

Timko Ilya- the lord of the entire site and fitness trainer | more details >>

Genus. 1984 Trained since 1999 Trained since 2007. CMS in powerlifting. Champion of Russia and South Russia according to AWPC. Champion of the Krasnodar region according to IPF. 1st category in weightlifting. 2-time winner of the Krasnodar Territory championship in t/a. Author of more than 700 articles on fitness and amateur athletics. Author and co-author of 5 books.

Weight 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 7 0 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 15 9 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 Growth 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 7 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 21 7 218 219 220

Fold thickness (mm):
Girth(cm):

Hello. To determine your body's muscle mass, you need 2 tools. These are calipers and tailor's tape. It is better that all measurements are carried out by another person, and not by yourself.

Using a caliper, measure the thickness of the skin fold (circles in the picture). We pull back the skin fold with our fingers and lightly squeeze it with a caliper. The pressure should not be strong. We enter the data in millimeters.

Using a tailor's tape, measure the girth of the body parts (lines in the picture). We measure the biceps in a relaxed state. We enter the data in centimeters.

For reference, I will say that women have an average amount of muscle mass of 36%. For men – 40% – 45%. For athletes – 45% - 50%. For professional bodybuilders – up to 70%.

Best regards, Timko Ilya.

You can find out the ratio of fat, water and muscle in your body at any medical center. Doctors can take measurements using a special device - a caliper, or using a computed tomography scan. There is also such a study as bioelectrical analysis of body composition.

If you do not have the opportunity to undergo a special examination at a medical center, you can take approximate measurements at home. To do this, you will need Sheldon's classification, which he made in the last century, having studied data from about 50 thousand people. Sheldon believed that all people are divided into three types. The first is people who have no problems with overweight, they have narrow bones and Long hands and legs. The scientist called such people ectomorphic. They usually have a small percentage of body fat and muscle. The second type is people with wide bones. Sheldon named them. They usually have more muscle than fat in their body. The third type is people who are overweight. Sheldon called them endomorphic. In their body fat usually predominates over muscle mass.

Body fat content
(age restrictions 5-99 years)

If you have selected the “Athlete” mode, the device will not show the health level indicator. Athletes may have low body fat, depending on the sport or type of physical activity.

Body water content
(age restrictions 18-99 years)

Body water percentage is the total amount of fluid in human body as a percentage of its total weight. Water plays a vital role in many processes in the human body and can be found in any cell, tissue or organ. Maintaining a healthy level of water in the body indicates that the body is functioning efficiently, which reduces the likelihood of developing problems in the body.

Eating, drinking alcohol, menstruation, illness, exercise and bathing can also cause fluctuations in hydration levels. Index percentage Your body water percentage should serve as an indicator, but should not be used to determine the exact recommended percentage of body water. It is important to analyze changes in body water over time while maintaining healthy body water levels.

Reception large quantity water at one time cannot significantly change the water content in the body. This will actually lead to higher fat levels because it will increase your overall body weight. Please monitor the unit's readings over time to determine relative changes. Each person is different, but the following values ​​can be used as normal body water levels for adults:

• Women: 45-60%
• Men: 50-65%

Body water levels tend to decrease as a person's body fat increases. A person with high body fat may have lower than average body water levels. When you lose (decrease) the amount of fat in the body, the level of water content in the body will tend to the values ​​indicated above.

Muscle mass

This parameter shows the weight of muscle mass in your body. The muscle mass displayed on the display includes skeletal muscle, smooth muscle (such as the heart muscle and digestive tract muscle), and the water contained in that muscle. If your muscle mass increases, your energy intake also increases, which helps you reduce excess body fat and lose weight in a healthy way.

Physical Development Rating

This parameter evaluates your physical condition according to the ratio of fat to muscle mass in your body. If you become more active and your body fat decreases, your rating physical development also changes accordingly. Even if your overall weight does not change, your muscle and fat levels may change, making you healthier and reducing your risk of certain diseases. Each person should set their own goals regarding their physical condition and follow a specific diet and program physical exercise to achieve this goal.

The above indicators can measure most analyzer scales and