Let's explore what constitutes a normal percentage of body fat

Previously, men (and even some women) set their main goal to build muscles. But times are changing and now the main thing is “lean” mass, namely getting rid of fat mass in order to maximize muscle manifestation. Just think of Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Cristiano Ronaldo at any point in the last ten years. Pronounced muscles, not fat tissue.

A similar figure - lean body mass, without excess deposits - has recently become the main goal of trainers and visitors gyms. But even if you are not striving for such pronounced muscles, it is worth finding out what percentage of body fat is normal and whether you need to change it, since this amount is one of the main indicators of the health of the body.

“Having a normal percentage of body fat reduces the risk of developing a variety of diseases,” explains Dr Luke Powles from Bupa's Crossrail Medical Center in London.

“Higher body fat has been shown time and time again to increase cholesterol and blood pressure, both of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This condition can also cause certain types of cancer and diabetes. In men, high body fat leads to erectile dysfunction.

But the percentage of body fat to muscle mass should not be too low, since underweight also leads to the development of a number of diseases.”

How much fat should you ideally have? For men aged 20-39 years old, the norm of body fat varies from 8 to 20%, for men aged 40-59 – from 11 to 22%. Now it’s much easier to find out your body fat percentage: smart scales, pocket scanners and fitness trackers can easily provide all the information about your body composition. For conservatives (or budget-conscious) there is also an option - a caliper.

Before you start losing fat, it's worth learning a little about the biological processes behind it. Let's start with the two types of fat: essential and stored.

Essential fats

Essential fats are fats that are necessary for the healthy and normal functioning of our body. For men, this is about 3% of total body weight. Without essential fatty acids such as omega-3 from oily fish, nuts and seeds, the body is not able to process such beneficial substances as vitamins A, K and D, which are responsible for immunity, blood clotting and calcium absorption. Fat is also necessary to protect internal organs and to regulate core body temperature.

Accumulated fat

Another type - accumulated - is the result of excess calories consumed. When we eat, calories that are not immediately used for functioning (such as providing energy for breathing or maintaining heart rate) are converted into triglycerides, which make up stored fat. Frequent excess calories, which cause fat accumulation, lead to weight gain. On the other hand, a repeated calorie deficit forces the body to use stored fat mass as energy, depleting reserves and leading to weight loss.

Body fat percentage

Simply put, fat is unused energy that is life-threatening. Its percentage in the body is the ratio of fat mass to total body weight. Returning to the question of what percentage of fat a person should have in the body, it should be noted that this number is influenced by many factors, such as height, gender and heredity. A "healthy" percentage for men aged 20 to 40 is generally considered to be no less than 8% and no more than 20%. A healthy woman in the same age group should have a body fat percentage between 15% and 31%. These figures are based on November 2015 data from the Royal College of Nursing.

Table of body fat percentage for men of different age groups

Most people can be guided by these indicators, but it should be remembered that the table does not take into account everyone’s individual fitness goals. Bodybuilders typically aim for ultra-lean muscle mass and a body fat percentage of no more than 5-8%. Cyclists and gymnasts are among the leanest athletes and typically have between 5 and 12% body fat. In order to look as prominent as possible, the indicator should be from 5 to 10%.

BMI and body weight

Body fat percentage is the best indicator of health. It is better suited for determining the constitution than the aging body mass index (BMI) or simply weighing. Weight can vary significantly depending on hormonal fluctuations, time of day, and the amount of food eaten and drunk before stepping on the scale.

If you are very high growth and significant muscle mass, your BMI will likely put you in the overweight or even obese category. The problem is that BMI was developed in 1832 by Belgian mathematician Adolphe Quetelet to identify the average person (determining how weight increases with height), not to identify underweight or obesity.

In the 1980s, BMI was adopted as a useful tool for determining life expectancy, and has been the bane of muscular people ever since. BMI often prevents young people from joining the police and other fitness-oriented agencies because they still use this indicator for admission. However, by measuring your body fat percentage, you are measuring the amount of fat mass, rather than getting an estimate based solely on height and weight.

For correct and more effective weight loss, it is necessary not only to strictly adhere to diet and regularity physical activity, but it is also very important to have an idea of ​​what fat is excess and what is healthy. This ratio is quite different in each specific period of life.

As the body grows, the characteristics of the human body change, including muscle mass and the proportion of obligatory fat. Therefore, over time, the weight should increase. You should be wary if it constantly falls or remains stable for many years. Everyone tries to regulate their weight in the same way, choosing the lightest and most affordable way- weighing. But it does not always show reliable results. You can exhaust yourself with workouts and diets, and the result will remain the same. This is most likely due to the fact that all the fat deposits that were present before turned into muscle, so this did not greatly affect the overall proportion of body weight. Perhaps the combination of diet and exercise was not chosen correctly. Sometimes body weight decreases so much that it becomes critical and dangerous to health.

Special methods and knowledge of the characteristics of your body will help you determine how much fat a person has. There are many formulas for calculating the required percentage, but the result will depend on how athletic, average or thin the person is. Often the structure of the skeleton also plays a role here. genetic predisposition. Until recently, the weight-to-height method was used to determine the percentage of body fat in a person. But in practice, it was still possible to prove that there is no direct connection between these two units. It is worth considering gender, because the body characteristics of men and women in terms of fat content are very different. So a man’s percentage is higher than a woman’s. It is generally accepted that for the former the norm is 15%, and for the latter 25%. Any deviation is a violation and can negatively affect overall health.

The main feature is the so-called “basic” fat, which in women serves primarily to support and protect the fetus. It is mainly found in the buttocks, breasts, inner thighs, and genital area. In any case, it is this fat that is most difficult to get rid of. It accounts for about 12% of the total body weight. In women it is 5% more than in men. Both of them contain body fat in all vital organs, such as the brain, heart, liver and others. Its share is approximately 3-4% and 8-9% in women and men, respectively. But in order to lose weight correctly, it is necessary to determine the percentage of fat in general, which will show whether there is a surplus or a deficiency.

There are several methods for making such calculations, but each of them has its own characteristics and errors. The main thing is not to forget to focus on your physique, applying formulas to biometric data: height, weight, volume. It is their complex that provides more accurate indicators.

A fairly common method in fitness centers and sports and recreational institutions is a method based on measuring skin folds using a special tool that is very similar to a caliper. It is used in several areas of the body, such as the back, sides, abdomen, chest, thighs. Having received the data, calculations are carried out. In this way, the specific percentage of fat accumulation is determined. Now this can be done using computed tomography, but this is a rather expensive service that does not have a wide range of applications.

Ultrasonic measurement method is also common. The technology is the same as with conventional ultrasound. Many experts believe that it does not show reliable results. This is explained by the fact that often the device is not able to recognize adipose tissue located too close to muscle tissue, mistaking one for the other. Quite often they use bioelectric resistance. This method is based on passing a weak electrical current through the entire body. Considering that fat is not capable of transmitting such impulses, an appropriate conclusion is made about its presence in a certain part of the body, calculating the percentage. This method was adopted in modern world a more advanced image in the form of an electronic platform. But at the same time, the error of an inaccurate result is very high.

There are simpler and no less effective ways determine whether a person has excess fat using calculations. You can stop at calculating the body mass index, which will tell you what state the body is in. To do this, you need to take the ratio of mass in kilograms to height in square meters. The norm is considered to be from 19 to 25. A lower value is underweight, a higher value is overweight, and after 30 - obesity. You can find out the amount of fat (BW) in kilograms using the formula: multiply the bulk body mass (BW) by BMI, and the difference between BW and BMI will help determine your net weight.

For the following methods, you can use available tools - a tailor's meter and a ruler. In the first case, it is worth measuring the volume of your hips and waist. This is the most accurate way to find out and further control your body fat percentage. It is necessary to divide the waist size by the hip size, now you can analyze the result, where the starting point is the value of 0.8. For the second method, you need to pinch a fold of skin on your shoulder near the armpit and measure its thickness with a ruler. The average should be 2.5 cm.

Knowing the exact biometric data, you can take into account all the features of diets and be based on the principle: expend more calories than the body consumes during meals. To do this, you need to consume the required amount of protein and healthy fatty acids.

When calculating the percentage of fat in a person, in addition to the listed parameters, it is very important to take into account the age of each person. It is all these features that influence the final result. It should be taken into account that the older the body, the more “basic” fat accumulates.

Body fat percentage is an excellent indicator of health and a metric to target when losing weight. The average percentage of body fat differs between men and women, as well as in different age groups. In the chart below, you can see the different body fat percentages for men and women, with a picture of what each of those body fat percentages looks like. Try having your body fat measured professionally, or use it to estimate your body fat percentage.

Average Fat Levels for Athletes

Fat percentage from low to high

Weight loss and minimal body fat percentage

It is impossible to reduce fat levels to zero. Body fat can be divided into essential fat And storage fat. Essential fat is essential for the proper functioning of the immune and hormonal systems and is found in major organs of the body such as the heart, lungs, bone marrow and muscles. Low levels of essential fat negatively impact physical and physiological health. Women have additional essential fat on the chest, pelvis and hips, which is a biological necessity for childbearing. Essential fats make up at least 10–13% in women and 5% in men of total body weight. Storage fats on the other hand are used as fuel for the body when needed and are also essential for health. They protect internal organs chest and belly. The percentage of this fat fluctuates, as does weight, which changes as we gain or lose it.

Essential fats and some storage fats are necessary for the normal functioning of the body. This is especially true for women in whom very low levels of body fat can cause impairment/loss. menstrual cycle(amenorrhea), which in turn can lead to estrogen deficiency, infertility, hair loss, decreased bone density and premature osteoporosis. In general, any woman who strives to maintain her body fat levels below 12 - 15% and/or overtrains will experience these issues. However, much also depends on how and how it was supported. The point at which amenorrhea may occur is different for all women, for some it may be at the level of 18%, for others at 16% or 12%. It is important to understand that even if normal menstruation resumes, some of the changes that occur may be irreversible. For example, loss of bone minerals (increasing the risk of developing osteoporosis - brittle bones). This is especially true of adolescence, during which 60 - 80% of the bones of the skeleton are formed and fixed. Low estrogen levels during this time will cause inhibition and suppression of normal sexual growth and development.

Amenorrhea is never healthy, desirable or acceptable. This is a sign that something is wrong. If your periods have stopped after a period of weight loss, you may have gone too far. Try gaining some weight and see if it restores your periods and consult your doctor.

Obesity and too much body fat

• A body fat percentage of 30% is the limit for women, 35% is already clinical obesity. While in men the limit is 25%, obesity is 30%.
• High levels of body fat are a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, some cancers and osteoarthritis.
• Excess fat makes it difficult to achieve results in sports. High body fat is a type of “dead weight” that leads to decreased performance in speed, endurance, movement efficiency, agility, balance and jumping ability. However, having overweight, you don't have to avoid exercise, just follow some simple tips according to the exercises given on this site.

About fat cells

Fat in the body is stored in fat cells, and everyone is born with a certain number of fat cells. And this number does not change. When we gain or lose weight, all that changes is the size of those fat cells - they can grow or shrink in size. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and there are two times when the number of fat cells can increase:

• During puberty, when the number of fat cells increases.
• With severe obesity (when more than 60% body fat, i.e. 170% normal weight body), fat cells can no longer grow larger and store more fat, because have reached their size limit, so additional fat cells begin to be produced.

When an adult loses fat, the fat cells decrease in size. The only way to reduce the number of fat cells is to surgical removal, i.e. liposuction. However, liposuction does not affect the size of the remaining fat cells and does not guarantee that their growth will stop. Therefore, liposuction cannot guarantee the prevention of weight gain. Liposuction, like any fat removal procedure, is limited to only removing a relatively small number of fat cells.

Regular determination of body fat percentage - The best way assessing the effectiveness of diet or fat-burning training. The usual number on the scale and weight in kilograms can distort the real situation, since during the period of weight loss the body tends to replace part of the lost fat with water.

There are many calculation methods percentage body fat, but most of them have an extremely high level of error. It is recommended to trust only professional methods - if a cheap floor scale shows that you have 2% body fat, this does not mean anything.

Ideal fat level

For men, 6-13 percent body fat means a toned, athletic physique and fairly defined abs, 14-17% means good physical shape with a small amount of fat in problem areas, 18-25% means average level forms, above 25% - obesity.

For girls, an athletic build is characterized by 14-20% body fat, good physical shape - 21-24%, average body fat - 25-31%. At the same time, a fat level below 10% is extremely dangerous for female body and leads to the cessation of the menstrual cycle.

How to calculate your fat percentage?

Calculating the percentage of body fat is simple - to do this, you need to divide the fat mass in the body by the total weight. For example, if you have 10 kg of fat and weigh 70 kg, then the fat percentage will be 10/70 = 14.3%. However, the key challenge is knowing exactly how much fat you have.

There are several methods for determining the amount of fat in the body. Only one of them - hydrostatic weighing - is direct and shows the real figure for your body. All other methods are indirect and based on comparison of statistical data.

Hydrostatic weighing. The only measurement method that shows the real amount of fat tissue in the body. It is based on the simplest laws of physics - first the body is immersed in a bath of water (in this case, the volume of “flowed out” water is equal to the volume of the body), then the volume is compared with the weight and the percentage of fat is calculated.

Electronic body analysis systems

The operation of electronic body composition analysis systems is based on passing very weak and safe electrical currents through tissue and subsequent analysis of the speed of passage and the percentage of signal loss. Fat tissue delays the signal, while water and muscles transmit it almost entirely.

Note that such systems do not determine the fat content specifically in your body, but only compare the indicators with average figures and show an approximate result. Their error depends both on the number of measuring electrodes and on temperature, the presence of food in the stomach and other factors.

Scales with body analysis

Bathroom scale with body analysis is one of least accurate methods for measuring body fat. By sending a weak current through one leg, the scales “wait” for it on the other and determine the percentage of losses. However, the resulting signal loss can be caused by a variety of reasons.

The only way to use such scales is to track the trend - let the number lie, but what is important is its increase or decrease over time. The presence of handles reduces the error and allows you to determine the fat content more accurately - however, such scales are quite expensive.

Measuring fat with a caliper

The measurement method consists of measuring the folds of subcutaneous fat with a caliper-like device (“caliper”) and comparing the result with a table. The table contains a comparison of the thickness of the fat fold in millimeters and the approximate percentage of body fat.

Caliper measurements are more accurate than measurements electronic scales, since the thickness of the belly fat fold is directly related to the total amount of fat in the body. An important advantage of the method is that an ordinary caliper can also serve as a caliper at home.

How to measure fat level with a caliper?

The measurement technique for determining the level of fat using a caliper is simple - you need to stand up straight, find a point 10 cm to the right of the navel at a height of 3-4 cm from the edge of the protruding femur, pinch the skin and fat at this place, then measure the thickness of the clamp with the caliper.

The measurement result in millimeters and your age are compared with the table below - at the intersection there is a number showing the predicted fat content in your body. The table also shows whether the indicator is in the high, medium or low zone.

To calculate your body fat percentage, you need to know your physical fat mass. The only direct method for determining this figure is weighing in a special bathroom; all other methods are indirect and may contain significant measurement errors.

Anyone who has been even slightly interested in a healthy way life and weight loss knows that a big role for appearance plays exactly body fat percentage. Fashion for curvaceous figure passed a long time ago and by modern standards beauty lies in a slim, fit, athletic body. Accordingly, the lower its percentage in the body, the more aesthetically pleasing a person looks.

But here, too, there are norms, neglecting which you risk getting obesity or anorexia instead of beauty. Also, maintaining body fat within normal limits is extremely important for health. Deviations in one direction or another can lead to disastrous consequences, sometimes even irreparable. The fat layer is accumulated not only on muscle tissue, but also on internal organs, which is especially dangerous. You've probably heard the concept of “visceral fat.” So what is the optimal body fat content? How to properly reduce its percentage and not harm your health? Where is the line between beautiful slimness and excessive thinness and where can you “get” the desired relief? To understand how to determine the percentage of body fat and find out the answers to the questions, read the information below.

If you are overweight and you can see with the naked eye that your fat percentage is higher than normal, then you don’t need accurate measurements. They are necessary for athletes who carefully control their nutrition and exercise. It is difficult for them to determine something “by eye”.

There are many methods for determining its percentage in the body, but, unfortunately, not all of them are accurate:

• caliper - a specialized device with a scale - has a high error;
• X-ray - minimal deviations;
• special scales and other gadgets - the error is about 6% (highly dependent on the current state of the body);
• bioelectric resistance - there is also an error;
• “by eye” - the error is large, but the method is the simplest and most common.

Let's look at each in a little more detail. The caliper measures the thickness of the skin in the fat fold. Measurements are taken in several places, and then the results are summed and applied to several equations. Disadvantages of this method: the equations are not accurate from the very beginning; if you clamp less skin, you will get an underestimated result, and if you clamp more, you will get an overestimated result. So you won’t be able to calculate the correct coefficient. X-ray has a smaller error than the previous method, but is still not accurate, this has already been proven by a number of studies. Moreover, a lot depends on the device itself, the condition of the body, gender, weight and many other factors. The error ranges from 4 to 10%. The most precise method Determining body fat percentage is a four-part analysis.

Here the body is conventionally divided into four components:

• bones;
• water;
• muscles;
• adipose tissue.

All this is individually “weighed”, and the results are passed through a special formula. This method will help you reliably calculate your body fat percentage for women and men. If you judge by eye, a sculpted body contains about 10% fat, while a slender, non-sculpted body contains up to 20%. Well, if there is obesity at any stage, then it’s no less than 50%.

Practical advice: When determining the percentage using this method, you need to remember the role muscle mass. The same indicator will be for a “jock” and a thin one. The only difference is the relief.

Body fat calculator

Result: Your body contains approximately fat (or ).

What is the minimum fat percentage

It is completely impossible to get rid of the fat layer, since it is also necessary for the normal functioning of the body.

Please note: For men, the minimum content is considered to be 5%, for women - 13%. If the percentage is below normal, internal organ failure will follow.

There is such a case in history. A bodybuilder who overdid it with fat loss has died. A small part of fat is and should be in all human organs and systems.

In addition to it, there are 2 more types:

• subcutaneous;
• visceral.

The latter accumulates on internal organs and is more difficult to get rid of. A small amount of fat is provided for the normal functioning of the body, but its excess leads to many serious diseases.

Normal (healthy) body fat percentage

Obesity cannot be healthy by definition. The World Health Organization has a chart that indicates a healthy fat percentage.

As mentioned earlier, a low content of subcutaneous (and not only) fiber leads to death, and a high content leads to many diseases. There is a norm for body fat content and it is worth sticking to it.

Visceral fat

For a long time, the accumulation of visceral fat in adults was attributed to genetics - predisposition and so on. But scientists have proven that a fat woman is not to blame for your obesity. The content of visceral fat increases along with subcutaneous fat, and genetics have nothing to do with it.

It becomes harmful when contained:

• for men from 20%;
• in women from 40%.

Reducing body fat percentage

Losing weight is a difficult task, but it can be done. In the first couple of kilograms, they disappear faster than the last. At first glance, everything is simple - you need to eat less (kcal) than you spend. This is how the body begins to take energy from fat reserves, burning them. But the slimmer you become, the harder it is to lose a few extra pounds.

Please note: The greater the initial body weight (fat), the faster it goes away from the first weeks of training. Further more difficult. As fat mass decreases, more and more effort is required to achieve the next result.

For example, the initial weight is 100 kg. During the first month of training and proper nutrition you can lose 5-10 kg. In the second month, 3-7 kg are lost under the same loads, and so on. Therefore, you need to increase the load as the weight decreases. An experienced trainer can help you choose the right initial and further exercises, and it is better to consult a nutritionist when selecting a diet. The percentage of body fat, both when losing weight and when playing professional sports, is more important than calculating BMI (body mass index). The latter only shows the ratio of height and weight; there are even calculators to calculate it. But for a full assessment physical development This is not enough.

What to do to get the desired relief

When losing weight, it is important not only to get rid of fat, but also to achieve toned and defined muscles, even if not very pronounced. Below are guidelines on what you should and shouldn't do every day to move from one "fat category" to another.

Conclusion

A normal percentage of fat requires constant maintenance: proper nutrition, physical activity. Indicators above normal can lead to many diseases, including diabetes, problems with the heart muscle and the entire vascular system, joint diseases, and so on. List possible complications too long.