Your body fat percentage, or the percentage of your total body weight that is not lean body mass, can help you determine your fitness level and your risk for obesity-related disease. You can calculate your body fat percentage using online calculators that take into account your total body weight and your gender as well as certain other measurements. You can also ask your doctor to determine your body fat percentage. Once you determine this number, it's simple to understand what it means for you.
Step 1
Consider your body fat percentage in relation to your gender. Healthy body fat levels for females differ from those for males. Highly fit female athletes should have about 14 to 20 percent body fat, whereas their male counterparts should have about 6 to 13 percent body fat. Fit females should have about 21 to 24 percent body fat, whereas fit males should have about 14 to 17 percent body fat. According to the Mayo Clinic, women with body fat percentages above 30 percent and men with body fat percentages greater than 20 percent have unhealthy body fat levels.
Step 2
Consider your body fat percentage when looking at your body mass index, or BMI, value. Even if you have a normal weight BMI value, you might still be at risk for heart disease and other obesity-related disorders if you have an unhealthy body fat percentage. According to the Mayo Clinic, individuals with normal BMI values and unhealthy body fat percentages suffer from “normal weight obesity.”
Step 3
Discuss your weight and body fat percentage with your doctor to determine your risk for heart disease and metabolic illnesses, as well as any steps you can take to lower these risks.
Tips and Warnings
- To determine whether your weight loss goal is healthy or reasonable, estimate what your body fat percentage would be if you lost the amount of weight you hope to lose through a particular exercise program. For example, if you are a 150-lb. female with 25 percent body fat, you have 37.5 lb. of body fat and 112.5 lb. of lean body mass. If you hope to lose 30 lb. to reach a weight of 120 lb., you would have to lose mostly body fat while maintaining your original 112.5 lb. of lean body mass. At 120 lb., therefore, you would have only 7.5 lb. of body fat and an unhealthily low body fat percentage of 6.25. Thus, your weight loss goal is unrealistic.
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