Healthy Body Fat for Men and Women
Most people don’t know their body fat percentage.
This is as bad as not knowing how much money you spend. It’s a travesty, especially in the realm of health and fitness. Why is body fat percentage crucial? It’s the best indicator of body composition. Anyone who cares at all about their well being ought to know roughly what their body fat is. On the other hand, almost everyone knows precisely how much they weigh. Weight isn’t a beneficial gauge of body composition. Neither is Body Mass Index (BMI). You can acquire what’s widely regarded as being a standard Body mass index and still have all kinds of hidden health issues. That isn’t likely to be the scenario with body fat . What is a healthy body fat percentage for men and women?
Short answer: the Athletes ranges in the American Council on Exercise figures below.
• Essential Fat: 2% – 5% (men), 10% – 13% (women)
• Athletes: 6% – 13% (men), 14% – 20% (women)
• Fitness: 14% – 17% (men), 21% – 24% (women)
• Acceptable: 18% – 24% (men), 25% – 31% (women)
• Obesity: >25% (men), >32% (women)
Long answer (my personal opinion):
A healthy body fat for males is between 6% and 10%. A healthy body fat for females is between 14% and 17%. I target the lower end of the Athletes range for two reasons. First, I do believe that being an athlete is the bare minimum requirement of physical fitness. Next, you can probably make do with being fairly healthy and fit within the higher ranges of Athlete, but that’s not what I want for you. I want you to be supremely fit and healthy and for that, you should acquire an unquestionably athletic build. The Acceptable ranges in this data are undesirable. I was in the top end of the Fitness range for several years and I felt lethargic and heavy. Be a bit ambitious. With some effort, you can look and feel like some of the superstars we idolize in sports.
Does your age affect your body fat percentage?
In theory, it will. Your metabolism drops as you grow older thus rendering it more difficult to keep up low body fat levels. In reality, the reduction in metabolism as a result of getting older has a negligible impact when compared to the effect of your all round lifestyle. In other words, aging isn’t a legitimate good excuse for having a high body fat percentage. I believe all men and women should focus on the lower ends of the Athlete ranges regardless of age. Due to a combination of factors, the normal body fat percentage for males and females increases with age. As a result, elderly folks that hit an ambitious target and sustain an athletic body fat percentage look way more spectacular among fellow men and women in their age group than younger people will. Case in point: Mark Sisson.
So how exactly does a healthy body fat percentage tie in with the other two elements of The Magic Trio?
As far as personal finance goes, those who have a healthy body fat percentage will suffer from far fewer health problems as well as obesity-related conditions than the rest of the population. What about enjoying life? This is kind of a no-brainer isn’t it? By keeping a healthy body fat percentage, you’ll definitely enjoy your life more since you will look and feel good. Carrying extra fat around is one of those things you get used to if you’re overweight, but that doesn’t imply it’s not damaging. Getting rid of extra fat will provide you with more vitality and confidence than you could ever envision. It’s night and day. My experience continues to be so positive that I can’t picture myself returning to the days of owning unwanted fat. I’m certain that anyone else that has gone through substantial fat reduction feels exactly the same way. It’s like owning a digital video recorder or viewing sports in HD. Once you switch, you can never revert back. Now that you know the healthy body fat percentage for men and women, it’s time for you to take action!