The World Health Organization reports that in 2008, more than 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese. Obesity is defined as having too much body fat. If you are overweight or obese, you are at a greater risk of developing chronic illness such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. One way to determine if you are obese is to get your body fat percentage calculated.
Body Fat Ranges
The ideal body fat percentage is different for men and women. If you have 20 percent body fat, and you are a woman, you are in the healthy range. But if you are a man, 20 percent is too much. The ideal body fat for a woman is 20 to 21 percent. For a man, it's 13 to 17 percent. Obesity is defined as a body fat percentage of more than 30 percent for women and more than 25 percent for men.
Other Body Composition Tools
Body composition is also calculated using waist-to-hip ratio measurements and the body mass index, which is based on your height and weight. Body mass and body fat are different. Body mass refers to the weight of your body, and body fat is the amount of fat on your body. In fact, being overweight and obese are different. Overweight means your weight is too high for your height, and obese means that you have too much body fat. Therefore it is best to use a combination of these tests when you're assessing your body composition. If you are unsure of how to have these tests done, ask your health-care provider about the best way to get your body composition assessed.
Healthy Weight Benefits
It is important to have a healthy body fat percentage, because it indicates that you are less likely to have health problems associated with obesity. "A healthy body weight is a weight at which the body functions most efficiently and effectively, affording itself maximum protection against illness and disease," says Brenda Davis, registered dietitian and lead nutritionist for the Diabetes Wellness Research Project. The Harvard School of Public says that a healthy weight can lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, cancer and diabetes and improve your quality of life.
Considerations
The average man in the United state has a body fat percentage of 17 to 19 percent, and the average woman has a body fat percentage of 22 to 25 percent. If you need to lose weight and body fat, start by changing your dietary habits and increasing your physical activity. The only true way to lose weight long-term is to burn more calories than you consume each day.
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