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A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily functions. Fat helps regulate body temperature, store energy, and cushion and insulate organs. The percentage of body weight that makes up this "essential fat" is around 4% of body weight for men and 10% for women. Beyond that, there is a fairly wide range of what is considered a healthy percentage of body fat.
Essential fat is the fat needed for healthy functioning. This fat is found in the bone marrow and spinal cord; it surrounds the liver, spleen, heart, kidneys, and other organs. We also have fat in our breasts and genitals and in muscle tissue. In addition to this, most of us have some storage fat. Too low a body fat percentage results in amenorrhea (absence of menstrual periods) in women, because the body senses inadequate energy reserves or high physical stress -- and won't sustain a pregnancy, for example. Some experts believe that 17% body fat is needed for the onset of menses, and 22% body fat is needed to maintain normal menstrual cycles. Of course, some people are healthy outside these parameters.
Your body fat percentage is simply the percentage of fat your body contains. So, if you are 150 pounds and have 10% fat, it means that your body consists of 15 pounds of fat and 135 pounds of lean body mass (bone, muscle, organ tissue, blood and everything else).
The American Dietetic Association recommends that men have 15-18% body fat and women have 20-25% body fat. The following table describes body fat ranges and their associated categories, according to the American Council on Exercise:
| Classification | Women | Men | | Essential fat | 10-12% | 2-4% | | Athletes | 14-20% | 6-13% | | Fitness | 21-24% | 14-17% | | Acceptable | 25-31% | 18-25% | | Obese | 32% plus | 25% plus |
"Overweight" is defined as an excess amount of body weight, including fat, muscle, bone and water. "Obesity" is defined as an excess amount of body fat. Thus an athlete or muscular person may be overweight without being obese.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a height/weight formula used by health professionals to assess a person's body weight. In short, the higher your BMI, the greater the risk of developing additional health problems. Using BMI to gauge weight has its limitations. For example, BMI fails to consider fat/muscle ratio. Thus a healthy, muscular individual with very low body fat may be classified obese using the BMI formula. So if you are a trained athlete or bodybuilder, a weight-assessment based on your percentage of body fat would be a better indicator of what you should weigh.
BMI also takes no specific account of body-frame size, so people with stocky builds/large body frames may be considered overweight even if they don't have a lot of body fat. Other individuals to whom the BMI does not apply include: people under 18 or over 65 years, and pregnant or breast-feeding women.
Causes & Development
Body fat is increased by taking in more calories than you expend, not by eating certain foods.
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Recommendations and treatments for High Body Fat Percentage: | | | | | Botanical |  Tribulus | With the use of tribulus, the benefits for the person engaged in active training and workout are muscle cell growth and increased body strength as well as faster recuperation and recovery from muscular stress. For years, tribestan, an extract of tribulus, has been used by athletes of the Soviet bloc. Tribulus has become increasingly popular with athletes because it reportedly increases strength and stamina. |
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Habits |
Aerobic Exercise |
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KEY | | Highly recommended |
GLOSSARY
Amenorrhea
Absence or suppression of menses. Primary amenorrhea is the failure to begin menses by age 16, secondary amenorrhea is tardy menses (from pregnancy, stress, dieting, illness or intensive physical training) in the previously menstruating woman.
Kidneys (Kidney, Renal)
Bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located near the middle of the back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines, each day handling about 50 gallons of blood to sift out about half a gallon of waste products and extra water. The waste and extra water become urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The actual filtering occurs in tiny units inside the kidneys called nephrons. Every kidney has about a million nephrons. In a nephron, a glomerulus -- which is a tiny blood vessel, or capillary -- intertwines with a tiny urine-collecting tube called a tubule. A complicated chemical exchange takes place, as waste materials and water leave your blood and enter your urinary system. The kidneys recycle chemicals such as sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and thus regulate their levels. Renal: Pertaining to the kidneys.
Liver (Hepatic)
The largest and one of the most complex organs of the body, the liver is responsible for much of the metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. It is the site of much of the body's detoxification. It is connected very closely with digestion and the regulation of blood sugar, among many other functions. Found behind the ribs on the right side of the abdomen, it has many important functions such as removing harmful material from the blood, making enzymes and bile that help digest food, and converting food into substances needed for life and growth. Hepatic: Pertaining to the liver.
Menstruation (Menses, Menstrual, Menstrual Cycle, Menstrual Cycles, Menstrual Flow, Menstrual Phase, Monthly Cycle)
The periodic discharge of blood, tissue fluid and mucus from the endometrium (lining of the uterus) that usually lasts from 3 - 5 days. It is caused by a sudden reduction in estrogens and progesterone.
Spleen (Splenectomy)
The largest organ of the lymphatic system in the body, located between the stomach and the diaphragm (the muscle below the lungs which provides the motion for breathing). It destroys old red blood cells, produces lymphocytes and plasma cells, and stores blood. It also has other as yet unknown functions. A splenectomy is the surgical removal of the spleen.
Last updated: Jun 08, 2008
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