With all the things that we are told and see about obesity and being fit, you may wonder, how much body fat should I have? I think it is important to know what is considered a normal and healthy body fat percentage because not knowing can lead to unhealthy expectations on either end of the spectrum.
Why do we need body fat?
For those that may think body fat is bad no matter what amount, there are several things that we need fat for. Body fat is used to protect our vital organs, helps to insulate our body and maintain our body temperature, and also is an important way of storing energy. Our bodies also need to take in certain fats that we cannot make – called essential fatty acids – to keep our bodies healthy. In fact, if we do not get enough essential fatty acids we would die. Fats are a crucial part of every cell in our body.
Body Fat Percentages
It is interesting that there is not an ‘official’ set of body fat percentages. There are a few different guidelines that are usually referenced, but each varies slightly. Overall they generally agree that the amount of essential fat – what our body needs to survive – is about 2-4% for men and 10-13% for women. If you are wondering why the difference between men and women, well men and women are different in many ways and this is just one of them. Women need a higher body fat percentage to have their bodies function correctly.
Besides essential fat, there are other divisions such as lean, athletic, average, etc. between the different guidelines. A general rule that I like to use for a healthy body fat percentage is about 17% for men and 25% for women. These numbers tend to fall around the ideal/fitness to average level on the different guidelines. However it is not important to have that exact value because everyone is different and also it is natural as we get older that we tend to have more fat. So the numbers above are a ballpark to shoot for, but how do you know your body fat percent?
How to Measure Body Fat Percentage
There are several different methods to measure body fat percentages. Unfortunately even the best method may be off as much as 1-4% for body fat percentage. This is one more reason not to worry too much about the specific number. Here are some of the ways to measure body fat percentage.
Under Water Weighing/Bod Pod
These measurements are considered the gold standard for body composition. Basically you weigh and also take the displacement of water (under water weighing) or air (Bod Pod) to get the volume of the body to figure out body fat percentage. As both take highly specialized equipment, it is not a practical method for figuring out body fat percentage.
Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA/DXA)
This method uses two different energy levels for x-rays to help determine the composition of the body. This is technique is more commonly used to determine bone mineral density and to evaluate for osteoporosis. Again it requires highly specialized equipment and is not practical for the average person.
Body Impedance
This includes scales or hand held devices that measure body fat percentage. The basic idea is that an electrical current is passed through the body and the resistance to the flow of the current is measured to estimate body fat percentage. This is a relatively easy way to estimate body fat percentage, but it is not very accurate and can be affected by a number of factors. Being dehydrated can have a significant effect on the reading.
Skinfold Calipers
This method uses calipers to measure the width of skinfolds at one or more places on the body and using these measurements in an equation to estimate body fat percentage. Many calipers can be purchased at a reasonable price. However, this method takes practice to do correctly and, again, is susceptible to error. It is an economical way to help measure progress, but it may not be very accurate for a true body fat percentage.
Body Measurements
This method uses a tape measure to measure the circumference on different parts of the body and then uses the measurements in an equation to estimate body fat percentage. This method is probably less accurate than using calipers to measure skinfolds. Again this may be an economical way to measure progress but not likely to give a very accurate estimate of body fat percentage.
Conclusion
Body fat is essential for life and too little or too much can be damaging to health. While there are many different ways of measuring/estimating body fat percentage each has its pros and cons and ultimately may not be highly accurate. Unless you have a need for an accurate measurement for body fat percentage the less expensive methods of estimating it are fine. Ultimately body fat percentage is just one piece of information to determine your health status so don’t get too worried about it. For health, getting around 17% body fat for men and 25% for women is good, but a few percentage points one way or the other is still fine.
