Tomorrow I am going to check my body fat percentage at a health clinic so what’s better than to give you some information that I have researched on it. I have gotten my body fat percentage before and it was around 21%. At first, I was disappointed, but then I realized the huge difference between men and women and a normal body fat percentage.
First off, you might not even know what body fat percentage is. Your body fat percentage is simple. It is a value that tells you how much of your body mass is made up of fat. If you weigh 120 pounds, most of your weight consists of bones, water, muscle, etc. But of course, you will always have some fat to add to your total weight. So 20 percent body fat of 120 pounds means 24 pounds of fat is on your body.
You would think that you would want a zero percent body fat percentage but you actually need essential fat on your body to live. You need body fat for cell function, energy use, and as a cover for your joints and organs. If you have zero, it’s impossible to survive.
Essential fat for men is around 2-5% if you weigh 200-pound that’s about 4-10 pounds of fat.
Essential fat for women is around 10-13% if you weigh 120 pounds that’s about 12-15.6 pounds of fat.
The thing about body fat is someone can weigh the same exact weight but have completely different body compositions. Two men can both weigh 200 pounds and be 5’9. On paper though, they might look the same, but they are so different. Male #1 works out every day, eats healthy and has a lot of muscle, and Male #2 rarely works out, eats out for most meals and has low muscle mass. How unfair that they weight the same, right? Actually, you’re wrong. If they got their body fat percentages done, you could see that the first male is healthy and fit, and the second is unhealthy and unfit. Just by looking at them. Numbers on a page mean nothing. Male #1 could have 13% body fat which means he only has 26 pounds of fat on his body. But Male #2 could be at 24% body fat which means he has 48 pounds of fat on his body. That’s 22 pounds of fat different, even though they weigh the same.
Ideal body fat percentages can be found below:
Men:
Athletes: 2-5%
Very interested in fitness: 6-13%
Average: 14-17%
Obese: 25% +
Women:
Athletes: 14-19%
Very interested in fitness: 20-24%
Average: 25-31%
Obese: 32% +
