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| Monday, May 24, 2010 |
| How much body fat is too much? |
Everyday someone asks me if they are too fat! Being a dietitian and a personal trainer leaves the door open for people to ask me pretty much any fitness and diet question, but the “am I too fat” question seems to be the most popular. I recently held a free body fat assessment at my fitness center. The clients are all ladies and the results were shocking to them.
Many of my clients exercise almost everyday and appear to be in good shape. Some work out twice a week and some work out twice a month. Regardless of their fitness level, they were all interested in finding out what their percentage of body fat was.
Let me start by saying that a certain amount of body fat is essential for your body to function properly. Fat helps regulate body temperature, cushions your organs and stores energy for the body to use as needed. Therefore it is not a good idea to try to get your body fat extremely low. However, most of the women I measured wanted to be lower and even expected to be lower. None of them had any idea what a desirable percentage of body fat is. According to the American Council on Exercise, the following are desirable body fat percentages:
| Classification | Women (%fat) | Men (%fat) | | Essential Fat | 10-12% | 2-4% | | Athletes | 14-20% | 6-13% | | Fitness | 21-24% | 14-17% | | Acceptable | 25-31% | 18-25% | | Obese | 32% plus | 25% plus |
As you can see from the chart, Essential Fat for women should be about 10 – 12%. Most of the women I measured wanted this to be their total body fat! Essential body fat for men is much lower. Athletes (meaning professional athletes, not weekend warriors) still often maintain a very low body fat. For female athletes 14-20% is acceptable and for male athletes 6-13% is acceptable. The next category is where most of my clients thought they would fall. The Fitness category for women shows a desirable body fat percentage between 21-24%. This is still pretty low for the average lady who likes to walk, do aerobics and lift some light weights. The fitness percentage for men is 14-17%, which is also pretty low for the average man. A good number of my clients did fall into the Acceptable range which for women is 25-31% and for men is 18-25%. I personally believe that most people who engage in moderate daily exercise will fall somewhere in this category or even slightly above. The Obese category starts at 32% for women and 25% for men. I have seen many women whose body fat is 33 or 35% who are clearly not obese! I think levels of overweight and obese would have been more appropriate for their chart. Don’t be alarmed if you fall into the obese category. If you are over 35%, you need to focus on getting that number down. Getting your % body fat in the “acceptable” range would be great, but don’t focus only on that number. Overall health should be the most important thing. Exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet and get the help of a professional trainer or dietitian if needed.
Now that you know where your body fat should be, go get yours tested. Most gyms will do it for free. But be careful because some gyms will try to sell you expensive personal training packages if yours is too high. Be prepared for the number you will see. Average body fat is NOT 10%. Many of my clients wanted to be in the single digits! Get your number and see where you fall. You might be surprised too. Even a seemingly thin person can have a body fat of 32%. Add some resistance training to your workout to build some fat burning muscle and keep up the cardio. You can change your body fat and even a slight change can be beneficial to your health.
- Jennifer
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Labels: Body Fat Percentage, Jennifer
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posted by The Sensei Team @ Monday, May 24, 2010   |
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| 6 Comments: |
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I think the biggest thing is the thin people that assume their body fat is low when in fact, it is not.
I am happy to report I am fine, even in a very good range for my age! :-)
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I've never had mine tested and honestly, I think I am afraid to know! I have a bit of excess skin from my large weight loss and I wonder if that would affect the results.
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The ranges suggested by the American Council on Exercise differ to those suggested by the World Health Orgnisation and neither take into account racial differences which can impact what the so-called ideal percentage should be. What people should be aiming for is changes over time, rather than some holy-grail range.
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It is interesting that those women you tested were not obese and yet their body fat was above 30%.
My boy fat is 15% and want to get down to 11%.
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Matt,
The women she tested who came in around 30 were probably a little overweight, but not obese. I think this might have been why she suggesting they have an addition range between "Acceptable" and "Obese" for people who are overweight. Mainly because I think it could be really discouraging for someone who is maybe 10 or 20 pounds overweight to be labeled as obese.
Thanks for the comment!
- Lauren
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Hi everyone. I really believe you need to take into account many factors when trying to achieve your ideal body weight or body fat. Such as age, gender, race, etc. Many times our "acceptable ranges" don't take into account our differences. Aim for YOUR best weight and body fat percentage and just use the charts a guide!!
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I think the biggest thing is the thin people that assume their body fat is low when in fact, it is not.
I am happy to report I am fine, even in a very good range for my age! :-)