Your Guide to Understanding Body Fat Percentage

Hey Ziddis! When people start their fitness journey, they are very focused on the number on the scale. To the point that they become obsessed with it and forget that there are other measures to be considered as well. Two people who weigh the same can be on completely different fitness levels. This is because your fitness and body structure are influenced by your body composition, rather than your weight. One of the most important markers of body composition is body fat percentage. It gives a clearer picture of your health, fitness and progress than just your weight. Let us understand the concept better!

What Is Body Fat Percentage?

Body fat percentage is the proportion of your body mass that is made up of fat. It does not include your muscle, bones, water or even organ weight. For example, if you weigh 70 kgs and 14 kgs of that is fat, then your body fat percentage will come up to 20%. Now, here is why it matters:

• This measure gives you a more accurate estimation of what is possible to lose to reduce weight.
• It is a better health indicator since excess body fat is your enemy, not weight.
• It can help us understand if there is any underlying risk of health issues like heart disease, diabetes or other health issues.
• It guides your training and nutrition in the right direction.
• For starters, you end up losing water weight and think the number on the scale is dropping.

Body Fat Percentage Calculator

You can calculate your body fat percentage in various ways. Some of the most reliable ways are:

• Skinfold calipers
• Bioelectrical impedance analysis
• DEXA Scan
• Circumference measurements + Formula

Whichever mode you choose to determine it, note that you must use the same method consistently to track your progress.

Healthy Body Fat Percentage

It will differ from person to person depending on their age, sex and activity level! Here is a rule of thumb one can refer to as set in a general guideline from the American Council on Exercise, aka ACE:

Category	Women (%)	Men (%)
Essential Fat	10–13	2–5
Athletes	14–20	6–13
Fitness	21–24	14–17
Average	25–31	18–24
Obese	32+	25+

Some things you must consider here are:

• Essential fat is the minimum percentage of your body needs to function normally.
• Athletes have lower percentages because of their higher muscle mass and training volume.
• Too little body fat can harm your hormonal balance, immunity and performance
• In women, body fat can be helpful if and when they want to conceive.

Ideal Body Fat Percentage for Women

For women, the ideal body fat percentage depends on their health goals, lifestyle and if they have any sport-specific needs.

General health and fitness	21 to 28%
Athletic fitness	16 to 20%
Aesthetic goals like an hourglass body shape	18 to 24%

Going too low or below 14% can lead to a lot of health issues, like irregular menstrual cycles. bone density loss and low energy. Every woman’s body responds differently, so focus should be on feeling strong and staying fit rather than chasing your ideal number on the weighing scale. You can support your fat loss with a MB Shred or L Carnitine.

Read More: Why Tracking Your BMI is Just Not Enough

Takeaway

Your body fat percentage is a far better indicator of health and fitness than your weight alone. It helps you understand your true body composition and guides smarter training, nutrition decisions and realistic health goals. This is a great measure to understand your fitness in a longer run.

This is a far better health and fitness indicator than your weight alone. It helps you understand your true body composition and guides smarter training and nutrition decisions. Instead of obsessing over the scale, track your body composition over time. Your weight might stay the same while your body fat decreases, and that’s real progress.