Daily rate of fat. The percentage of body fat: the norm for men and women, methods of measurement

You can find out the ratio of fat, water and muscle in your body at any medical center. Doctors can take measurements using a special device - a caliper, or using computed tomography. There is also research such as bioelectrical body composition analysis.

If you do not have the opportunity to undergo a special examination at the medical center, you can take approximate measurements at home. To do this, you need Sheldon's classification, which he made in the last century, having studied the data of about 50 thousand people. Sheldon believed that all people are divided into three types. The first is people who do not have problems with being overweight, they have narrow bones and long arms and legs. The scientist called such people ectomorphic. They usually have a low percentage of body fat and muscle. The second type is people with wide bones. Sheldon named them. They usually have more muscle than fat in their bodies. The third type is overweight people. Sheldon called them endomorphic. In their bodies, fat usually predominates over muscle mass.

Body weight may not always tell you something specific about your results. Weight may increase not because you have gained muscle mass, but because you have added fat. Unfortunately, no formula can give an accurate idea of ​​extra pounds, but the concept of the percentage of body fat will give you the opportunity to soberly assess your constitution.

There is no single indicator for any age and gender. Men and women are slightly different in structure from each other. If the critical percentage of fat mass for a man is 2-5%, then for a woman it is 10-13%. What happens if you reach it? Sexual functions are impaired, metabolism deteriorates, hormonal levels have serious problems. Men will not produce testosterone, and women will stop menstruating.

The percentage of adipose tissue is the indicator that perfectly characterizes the quality of the figure. It can be determined using a special device that passes an electric current through the body. There are also less daunting options: you make certain measurements that are substituted into formulas by which you can calculate the percentage. The most accurate method is to measure with a caliper, which is used to capture the fold of the body.

Over the years, the amount of body fat increases markedly. This description was taken for a maximum age of 30 years.

Low fat mass: for men - 3-4%, for women - 10-12%.

The percentage of body fat typical for athletes: for men - 6-13%, for women - 14-20%

Fit: for men - 14-17%, for women - 21-24%

Acceptable: for men - 18-25%, for women - 25-31%

Obesity: for men - more than 26%, for women - more than 32%

PERCENTAGE OF FAT IN THE BODY OF MEN

1. 3-4% are characterized by huge veins. Muscle separation is perfect, each individual bundle is visible. It is unacceptable to be in this state for a long time. As a rule, this is a competitive form of bodybuilders.
2. 6-7% - fat content of fitness models. The muscles are carved, the vascularity is less than in the previous example, but still high, especially on the limbs.
3. 10-12% of the muscles still retain their separation, but indistinct. The figure looks fit, contoured, aesthetically pleasing. The press is highlighted, the "cubes" are viewed. Low venous content.
4. 15% - a fit figure, but the relief is swollen, especially the press. Muscle separation is present, it is especially clearly visible under tension.
5. 20% - the relief is erased. The venous volume is very low. Large folds appear on the abdomen, fat accumulates on the sides. The body is soft, gradually rounded.
6. 25% - the waist begins to fade. Muscles are more or less visible under load, but there is no relief. The waist-to-hip ratio is 9/10.
7. 30% - fat is actively deposited on the lower back, thighs, calves, back. The abdomen protrudes. The waist becomes wider than the hips, not only visually.
8. 35% - waist circumference can reach 100 centimeters.
9. 40% Difficulty climbing stairs. The waist circumference is approaching 120 centimeters.

PERCENTAGE OF FAT IN THE BODY OF WOMEN

1. 10-12% is an unsafe level. Highest contouring of muscles, many veins all over the body.
2. 15-17% - an aesthetically attractive figure. The muscles are clearly visible on the trunk and limbs. The relief of the press is clearly visible.
3. 20-22% - toned body. Muscle separation is there, but minimal. The only basting of the press is the vertical lines. Fat accumulates on the legs.
4. 25% - no overweight. Normal figure. The relief is not visible, there is no muscle separation. Fat is deposited on the thighs, buttocks, and abdomen.
5. 30% - strong folds appear on the abdomen.
6. 35% - the circumference of the hips can become more than 100, the circumference of the waist approaches 70. The abdomen protrudes.
7. 40% - the width of the legs above the knee can reach 60, the circumference of the hips - 110, waist - 90.
8. 45% - there is a strong friability, dimples. The hips become wider than the shoulders, their circumference is about 130 cm.
9. 50% - body options are different. The lower part of the body is much larger than the upper one.

Below is a chart from the ACE (American Council on Exercise) and is one of the most commonly used body fat charts. As you can see, women have a higher percentage of body fat than men's at the same level. It is higher in women due to differences such as hormones, breasts, and genitals. Plus, women need a higher percentage of fat to ovulate.

"Essential fat" is the minimum amount of fat required for basic physical and mental health. There is a lot of controversy regarding the optimal percentage of body fat. A study by Gallagher et al concluded that too low fat levels are considered "lack of fat," which is "unhealthy." According to this study, men in their 20s and 40s with less than 8% body fat are considered "not fat enough", while their "healthy" fat levels are 8-19%. For women of the same age group, a level below 21% is a "lack of fat", 21-33% is considered a "healthy norm."

In my opinion, body fat percentage is an important health metric, but finding that a certain level of fat is “unhealthy” is only one piece of the coin. In fact, some overweight exercising people may be healthier than their leaner non-exercising counterparts. On the contrary, it would be an exaggeration to say that anyone with 6 abs (below 8% body fat for men) is athletic and well-nourished - unhealthy and lacking in fat. We all have different shapes, body sizes, and body fat distribution, but I think the above graph is a good starting point.

A limitation of the ACE graph is that while it does take into account gender differences, it does not account for age, which is accurately accounted for by the next two graphs.

Ideal Body Fat Chart: Jackson and Pollock

AccuFitness is a manufacturer of popular calipers - devices for measuring fat percentage by fat folds. Together with their products, they include a graph based on research by Jackson and Pollock (which has become the industry standard), which I believe is the most accurate in terms of aesthetics and health.

In this graph, the “age” column is on the left, the percentage of body fat in the table cells, and the colors correspond to the Lean, Ideal, Average, and Above Average ranges of body fat percentage. So, if you are a 30-year-old man, a body fat percentage of 10 to 16 is considered "Ideal", and from 18 to 22 is "Average," and so on. I also like the colors in this graph - red for too high values ​​and green for ideal values. Below are two graphs. The first is for men, the second is for women.

You may have noticed that as you age, your acceptable body fat percentage also increases. You will ask why? In short, these graphs are based on statistical assumptions. Older people have a lower body density when measuring skin folds. This indicates a higher percentage of body fat. However, this is not the case for trained seniors, as their body density should not be underestimated.

Looking deeper, there are three types of fat in the body:

• subcutaneous
• visceral (around organs)
• intramuscular (a layer inside the muscles, as in a marble steak).

The amount of subcutaneous fat you have may remain the same, but the amount of visceral and intramuscular fat can increase with age. For a visual representation of the% fat, use the pictures:

Fortunately, more recently, body fat is being tracked as a measure of a person's overall health, rather than body mass index, as was the case in the past.

Many articles have been written about the percentage of body fat, including the "Fat Percentage Table" and "5 Ways to Measure Body Fat Percentage", as well as the "Ideal Body Weight Formula". This article brings together the main ideas of the above articles and will help you visually visualize how much fat is in the body of a man and a woman.

Thousands of photographs have been used to write this article. Most of them were purchased from specialized sites. Other photos were freely available. If any of the photographs used in this article are protected by copyright, please report it and they will be removed or changed.

Below are some terms and concepts for a better understanding of this article and photos.

Fat percentage Is the amount of fat (in kg) divided by the total body weight and converted to a percentage. For example, the percentage of fat in a man whose body weight is 80 kg and whose body fat is 13 kg is 16% (30/180).

Body fat distribution

For each of us, body fat is distributed differently. For example, some women have very little fat in the abdomen and high in the thighs and triceps. For others, the opposite is true. It's the same with men. However, in most men, fat is usually stored mostly in the abdomen. The following photographs show the most common areas of fat distribution in men and women.

Human's figure

Each of us has a different body shape, so two completely different shapes can have the same body fat percentage, even if they don't look the same. Slim models and athletes are excellent examples. Their fat percentage is exactly the same.

Age

The photographs in this article show people between 25 and 35 years old. With age, the fat content in the human body increases. For example, a 20-year-old man and a 50-year-old man have the same amount of subcutaneous fat, but in a 20-year-old this amount will be 15%, and in a 50-year-old it will be 20%. With age, fat around organs (visceral) and in muscles (intramuscular) tends to increase.

Muscle grooves

When a person's body becomes more prominent, the muscles become more noticeable and look like thin grooves.

Vascularity- that is, the appearance of veins in different parts of the body as the fat content decreases.

A visual representation of the fat content of men

3 - 4% fat content in men

The bodybuilder's body fat percentage during preparation for a competition can be as low as 3-4%. This fat content is characterized by increased vascularity, so that veins are visible on literally every muscle in the body. Even on the buttocks, you can see small gaps between the muscles. If there are none on the gluteal muscles, then the fat content is very low. The normal amount of fat in men is considered to be about 2%. This is a necessary amount for the normal functioning of the body, since fat protects the internal organs of the chest and abdomen.

6 - 7% fat in men

6-7% of the fat content in men is not as categorical as 3-4%, but, nevertheless, even this percentage is not a normal indicator for most men. With this percentage of fat, your face becomes thinner, and your family begins to worry about you. Most models tend to have this level of fat and are marked by prominent muscles and bright vascularity in most muscles, including the muscles of the arms, legs and abdomen. Clearly prominent muscles in the abdomen are a sign of low fat content. Just like the clear separation of the muscles.

10 - 12% fat content in men

This is a normal level of body fat in a man whose abdominal muscles are not visible in the same way as men with 6-7% body fat. Nevertheless, the abdominal muscles are clearly visible. This is exactly the body that many men aspire to and which women like. The grooves of the muscles are not very visible on each muscle, but only on the shoulders and arms.

Men with this fat content are usually called "slim and fit". The contours of the muscles are clearly visible, but there is no clear separation between them. Muscle grooves are usually covered with a small layer of fat. However, the overall body shape is quite beautiful despite the lack of prominent muscles.

20% fat content in men

25% fat content in men

Muscles and blood vessels are practically invisible, and the waist increases significantly in volume (the ratio of the volume of the hips to the waist is approximately 0.9). It turns out that a man with a height of 180 cm has a waist volume of 91 cm. The neck volume also increases slightly and small fat folds are visible, however, such fat content is almost invisible in clothes. Men with more than 25% body fat have problems with obesity. A waist size of more than 101 cm is considered abdominal obesity.

30% fat content in men

35% fat content in men

As a man gets bigger and bigger and gains fat, most of the fat is stored in the belly. At 35%, the belly hangs down even more, and the waist is not visible at all. Such men are called "beer belly". The waist can be over 101 cm.

40% fat content in men

As with 35%, fat is stored in the abdomen and waist. The waist can be up to 145 cm or more. With this fat content, daily movement, such as walking up stairs or bending down, becomes difficult. A man at this level is already close to obesity, and his body mass index exceeds 35. For a better understanding: a man with a height of 180 cm, who weighs 122 kg, has 73 kg of muscle mass and 40% fat content.

A pictorial representation of fat content in women

10 - 12% fat content in women

This is an extremely low level of body fat that is only found in female bodybuilders. The minimum fat content in a woman's body is 8-10%, while for men it is only 2%. Why is there such a big difference? The fact is that women have more fat in the tissues of the mammary glands and in the area around the uterus. This level of fat is not considered normal for a woman and can be hazardous to health and may even cause menstruation to stop. Muscle grooves and blood vessels are clearly visible. The woman in the photo most likely has 12% body fat, as the vessels are not too visible.

15 - 17% fat content in women

This level of body fat is also very low and equates to 6-7% body fat in men. Most underwear models have this level of body fat and many of them have obvious disruptions to the functioning of the female body. The muscles of the abs, legs, arms and shoulders are clearly visible. The thighs and buttocks are usually less shaped due to their low fat content.

20 - 22% fat content in women

This level is typical for many athletes. The abdominal muscles are clearly visible, and there is some fat on the arms and legs. There is a level of separation between the muscles, but it is minimal.

25% fat content in women

This level is inherent in most women. Not too thin, but not too fat either. The curvature of the hips is clearly visible, and there are small fat deposits on the buttocks. A woman with a height of 163 cm and a weight of 59 kg has 25% body fat.

30% fat content in women

While in men fat accumulates in the abdomen, in most women it is stored in the thighs and buttocks. With this fat content, the thighs are pronounced and rounded. This is considered the limiting fat content of a normal woman.

35% fat content in women

The hips become even larger and the face and neck are rounded. The hip circumference can reach over 100 cm, and the waist over 80 cm. The abdomen begins to droop.

40% fat content in women

The thighs and buttocks are getting bigger. The hips can reach over 106 cm in circumference, the waist is over 90, and the hips are over 63 cm.

45% fat content in women

The skin loses its beauty and visible folds appear. The hip circumference can be over 115 cm and the waistline over 90 cm. The hips become noticeably wider than the shoulders.

50% fat content in women

The fat becomes visible on the skin. The hip circumference can be over 115 cm and the waistline over 101 cm. The hips are clearly wider than the shoulders. For a better understanding: a woman with a height of 163 cm and a weight of 90 kg has 45 kg of muscle mass and 50% fat content.

So you might be interested in finding out the most popular ones.

What is your body fat percentage? Why do you need to know this at all?
We all know that in order to look better and be healthy you need to avoid fatty foods and move a lot in order to burn excess body fat (ballast).
How to estimate the amount that we already have?
Is it a lot or a little?
Bodybuilders, for example, compete with about 5% body fat.
How much do we have? 10-15?
How much do you need?
We tell ...

This is the part of the body that is represented by fat. For example, if you weigh 70 kg and you have 7 kg of fat, then the percentage is 10.

It's simple.

This means that the fat content is a constantly changing number. Fluctuates when gaining weight or losing weight when gaining or losing muscle.

For example, if both, and the weight increase from 70 to 80 kg, and at the same time gain 3 kg of fat, then the new indicator will be 8%. If after that you stop exercising for a year and lose, for example, 5 kg of muscle, then the body fat content will be 7.5%.

So this indicator is constantly changing when the lifestyle changes.

Why body fat is more important than BMI

Some people confuse body fat and BMI, but they are completely different metrics. BMI - body mass index, expresses the relationship between height and weight.
Calculated by the formula: weight, kg / ((height, m) squared).

According to this formula, people with large muscles can fall into the "overweight" category. This is the main problem with BMI. It is very useful for analyzing large populations, but not particularly suitable for athletes (athletes). In this sense, the percentage of body fat is much better.

Is it possible to determine the percentage of body fat based on BMI?
No.

BMI is based on height and weight only. It can be high for a variety of reasons. It can also be the same in a person with highly developed muscles and a low amount of adipose tissue and in a person with a large amount of body fat and poor muscle development.

What percentage of body fat is considered normal for men and women

Although it is customary to be hostile to it, human fat is not just a layer of disgusting, unnecessary flesh. It performs many vital functions in the body, including protecting organs from damage, maintaining body temperature, producing hormones and other chemicals, and more. That is why there is a limit to how much fat you can burn without harming your health. Here are two charts for men and women:

Where does this difference come from?

In women, extra fat is found in the breasts, thighs, and buttocks.

Numerous studies have shown that the minimum percentage of fat in a man's body cannot be less than 4 - 5%, and for women - 10-12%. This is explained as follows: when you become so "dry", all that remains in the body is "vital" fat, which is contained in nerve cells, brain tissue, joints, palms of the hands and soles of the feet, in the membranes of such organs, like the heart and intestines. Therefore, he is needed to stay alive.
Once you get to this percentage in the body, you are literally on the edge of the abyss. Further fat burning can lead to cardiac arrest and loss of consciousness (coma). At the same time, the body protects itself and, instead of using fat, begins to destroy internal organs and muscles to generate energy. This is why many studies show that people who starved to death still retained vital adipose tissue.

For clarity: this is what a man looks like with 4% and a woman with 10%. Horror.

If you are not a professional bodybuilder and do not know what you are doing, never try to bring yourself to this. Hormonal disorders will begin, malfunctions in the work of internal organs. If you avoid all this, then all the same, the process of returning to normal will be very long and difficult. Fortunately, most likely, like most people, you do not strive for this. You are quite "satisfied" with 7-10% for men and 13-20% for women. This is the percentage that is called "embossed".

(We share photos of famous athletes because there has been a lot of research on them. For example, we know that the best male athletes in most sports have a 6-10% percentage, while women have 13-20%).
Anyone can look like this with exercise, but it is very difficult to maintain this shape for a long time. While this percentage of body fat is normal, there is no need to be dry enough to stay healthy.

Another illustration - 15% male and 25% female:

As you can see, they look great and athletic.
But when the percentage of body fat rises above a healthy level, you start to look clearly "overweight".
As in this photo:

How to calculate your body fat percentage

Smart Floor Scales & Weight Loss Monitor

• Smart body composition scales
• Fat loss monitor

These are the easiest ways. These instruments use a technique called bioimpedance measurement (BIA), which involves measuring the resistance of different parts of the body to electrical current.

Muscles conduct electricity well because they are 70% water. Fat is less conductive. The worse the body passes the current, the more fatty tissues it contains. This sounds pretty reasonable, but there are serious problems with the BIA. When current passes through a body, it follows the path of least resistance. For example, through the adipose tissues of internal organs, and not subcutaneous ones.

Most of these devices contain two electrodes, so even large areas of the body are often ignored. For example, the scale may not take the entire upper body into account (electrical current will flow from leg to leg). And handheld devices will miss the entire bottom. This seriously distorts the results.
Another problem with bioimpedance measurements is that they use mathematical equations that translate test scores into percentage of body fat.

Why are their formulas not correct? When companies create BIA meters they use another imperfect method of measuring body fat percentage, such as hydrostatic weighing.

Some studies have shown that hydrostatic weighing itself can give an error of 6%, depending on race, nationality of the person, etc. In other words, a person who has 10% of the body's content, on hydrostatic weighing, can get a result between 4-16%.

Many factors influence the results. If you conduct a study in a state of dehydration, you will get a very high result, due to the reduced conductivity. And if you carry out the test after eating, you will get the opposite effect - too low values. Body conductivity is also better after exercise. Therefore, after performing the test after exercise, incorrect, low results are obtained. This is why these devices are not suitable for correctly estimating the percentage of body fat.

How about purchasing one of these to track changes over time?

Not good either. These devices make different mistakes every time. There is no clear pattern.

Calipers and skinfold thickness

Calipers are used to measure the thickness of the skin fold in different parts of the body. These measurements are substituted into the formula. As a result
And there are drawbacks here. If you grab too little skin, the readings will be too low, too much - higher.

Photos and mirror

This is the easiest and most obvious way to assess the level of body fat. People with the same percentage in the body look very similar if they have the same physique. However, if not, the same percentage of body fat can look very different in people with different physiques.

For example, an 80 kg guy with 10% body fat has 8 kg of fat, and a 95 kg guy with the same percentage has only 1.5 kg more, but slightly more muscle, which gives him a completely different look.

For the exercising athlete, the pictures below should help to roughly determine the percentage of body fat in the body.

For men:
For women:

Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA)

DXA (sometimes called DEXA) uses a full body X-ray. Based on the fact that tissues with and without fat absorb X-rays differently. Therefore, everything can be measured and calculated. Most people used to think DXA was a sure-fire method, but numerous studies have shown that it can be 4-8, and sometimes 10% wrong.

Causes of errors: different manufacturers of devices, different algorithms used to interpret the data. Body size, dehydration, and some other factors also affect.

Plethysmography (Bod Pod)

A plethysmograph (Bod Pod) is a machine that works in a similar way to hydrostatic weighing, but uses air instead of water. Sit in a sealed capsule and the sensor measures how much air your body is displacing (Archimedes' Law). Then, using mathematical formulas, this is all translated into the percentage of body fat. Unfortunately, the accuracy of the Bod Pod method is not better than all the previous ones. It is negatively affected by hair, moisture, body temperature and clothing.

The most accurate way to calculate body fat

It is called 4-way analysis. It includes several methods, dividing a person's body weight into four categories:

1. bone
2. muscle
3. fat masses

• Hydrostatic weighing is used to measure body density.
• Dissolution of deuterium is used to determine the amount of water in the body.
• DXA is used to measure bone mass.

The results obtained are processed and calculated using various formulas. The result is always an accurate reading of the percentage of body fat. This is interesting, but useless information for us. Because this method requires a whole team of scientists.

Fortunately, there is a method that deserves our attention.

How to measure and track your body fat percentage

• Weigh yourself daily. Calculate the average over 7-10 days. If the average goes up, you gain weight. Therefore, weigh yourself every morning after washing your face, before breakfast.
• Measure with calipers once a week. If your skin gets thicker, you gain weight. If you are thinner, you lose body fat. In this sense, the use of calipers is very useful.
• Measure your waist circumference once a week. The size of the waist, measured at the level of the navel, is a reliable indicator of fat gain or loss.
• Photo once a week. For most gym goers, the main goal is how they look in the mirror. And when they look at themselves every day, they can lose motivation, since they do not notice the changes. Front, side and back photos solve this problem.

Using these methods, you will know exactly what is happening to the body and make changes to your diet and exercise programs.

Good luck!