Today's topic of the article will be devoted to girls who are not completely satisfied with their figure and would like to change it a little or more thoroughly. When we talk about overweight, then we mean those extra fat accumulations that prevent us from feeling comfortable and liking ourselves in the mirror. These ugly extra pounds are defined by nothing more than percentage of body fat. Today we will find out what should be the norm of fat in the female body, and also define what is the percentage of body fat in a woman is the lower threshold, after which problems with health and its reproductive function begin. In general, in this article we will analyze in detail and bit by bit how the female body and its nature reacts to changes in the percentage of fat and a decrease in the fat layer on its body. I think it will be interesting for every girl to know which the rate of fat in her body what is acceptable and what is dangerous...
The minimum percentage of fat in the female body
In fact, there is no single value that would say with accuracy that "this" indicator or "this" is ideal percentage fat in the female body (and in the male too). Fat rate for each person is determined individually and is based on many factors - this is gender, age, activity level, lifestyle, genetics, eating habits and others. However, despite this, scientists were able to determine minimum range of female body fat percentage, to fall below which women should not, due to the appearance of significant disturbances in the vital activity of the body. This percentage varies from 13 to 16 depending on age differences (Table 1).
Tab. 1 The minimum allowable fat content depending on the age of the woman
|
AGE |
≤ 30 | 30 – 50 | 50+ |
| Fat Percentage | 13% | 15% | 16% |
As we can see, the lower threshold of a woman's normal body fat percentage rises as she gets older. This is due to a decrease in its motor activity, and with the metabolism in general.
Normal percentage female body fat
Now let's move on to the average normal body fat percentage for women. As we already know, there are no two absolutely identical organisms, therefore this indicator will not be one specific number, but a range of several values, which will characterize an acceptable percentage of fat for a female body. In table 2 you can see what these values are for different age groups of women.
Tab. 2 Normal female body fat percentage
| AGE | ≤ 30 | 30 – 50 | 50+ |
| Fat Percentage | 16 – 20% | 18 – 23% | 20 – 25% |
But it is worth noting that even within these values there may be failures and violations of the menstrual cycle in women.
For example, if for a twenty-year-old young girl the normal percentage of body fat is 19% (as it happened "historically"), and when she lost weight, then the percentage of fat dropped to 17%, but still remained within her normal range and fits into the range "safe" minimum body fat percentage, then all the same, the girl may, and begin disruption of the ovaries at a more serious level. And all because normal body fat, indicated in tables 1 and 2 or prescribed in physiology textbooks, is still more conditional value, which only approximately determine this normal percentage . But in fact, the body itself decides what is an ACCEPTABLE percentage of fat for it, which is MINIMUM, and which is EXCESSIVE. And, unfortunately, we do not participate in this distribution.
How to measure your body fat percentage?
There are several ways to measure your body fat percentage. The infographic below shows the most popular (image is clickable).
But keep in mind that the resulting figure will only be approximate, since this method is not the most accurate of all presented above.
Low body fat or negative energy balance?
There are studies that show that low fat percentage in no way affects the absence of menstruation and the appearance of amenorrhea in girls. It's all about the negative energy balance, and not the percentage of fat, as such. When a girl begins to lose weight and lose her pounds, she does this at the expense of calorie deficit, that is, she spends more energy than she receives with food, thereby creating negative energy balance.
So it is this factor that is key in stopping menstruation and disrupting the reproductive function of a girl, and not the low percentage of fat itself.
If you believe these studies, it turns out that, in principle, a girl can have 6 cubes on her stomach and not have problems with her cycle. Is it really?
If you think logically, then in order to get the desired muscle relief, just SHOULD BE REDUCED its fat content, that is REDUCE percentage of body fat to its minimum (13-14%). And this in turn can only be done in a calorie deficit, which is created by reducing the number of calories received from food and increasing energy expenditure during training.
And here the question arises: are there girls who perform in the nomination "" or "Body fitness" and at the same time their cycle does not disappear? How is this possible? After all, most of them bring their percentage of body fat below the minimum allowable rate of 13%.
I accept this option:
those girls who were able to maintain their menstrual cycle during drying and a strict diet (and there are not so many such girls), they still managed to keep their energy balance at the proper level without creating a large calorie deficit due to supplements sports nutrition and .
Indeed, in order to prepare and compete in bodybuilding and bikini fitness competitions, you definitely need additional help in the form of a special one, otherwise there is no other way. Training and strict nutrition deplete the energy reserves of the body so much that sometimes girls not only lose their cycle, they just faint right on stage. All this shows how illiterate and incorrect the coach or the girl herself approaches the issue of preparing and leading up to the competition. It is clear that the minimum possible amount of carbohydrates (the main source of energy) is present in the diet of female athletes (the main source of energy), but, perhaps, some also receive less than the normal amount of proteins and fats from food. We cannot know this for sure, but it is true that sports nutrition supplements can partly reduce the energy balance created in the body of athletes.
Why am I leading all this? And besides, if you want to have a low percentage of body fat in your body (less than 15%) in order to see your cubes on your stomach, you need to take this issue VERY seriously! Firstly, you need to find out your minimum percentage of fat with which your body continues to function normally, and secondly, do not forget about additional nutrition for athletes.
remember, that female body fat still directly related to the created negative energy balance. The larger it is, the faster you lose weight and reduce your percentage of fat. And if at this time you do not help your body and do not support it in the form of additional sports nutrition and vitamins, then you risk losing your cycle, and subsequently get even more problems with your health:
And one more important point about which I would like to speak. After the girl is fully aware that her weight loss has not led to the result she dreamed of, and she decides to increase her fat percentage to her “historical” norm, this girl will inevitably face the realities of her weight loss. Unfortunately, not all the consequences of this weight loss will be able to leave without a trace as they appeared. Yes, she will most likely be able to return her menstrual cycle to normal in a couple of weeks, but, for example, the loss of some minerals that are responsible for bone strength may be an irreversible process for her. The consequences of amenorrhea never go absolutely without a trace, this is a scientifically proven fact. So, keep this in mind if you suddenly want to lose weight and reduce your normal fat percentage to the minimum.
Percentage of fat from low to high
Well, let's sum up the results of all of the above.
So, minimum percentage of fat in the female body should be 13-16% depending on the age of the woman. Below this threshold, women begin to have serious health problems, remember this.
Normal percentage of body fat in a woman ranges from 16 to 25%. Falling into this range, a woman looks and feels good, all her organ systems and, most importantly, her reproductive function are in perfect order.
We did not analyze the diagnosis of obesity here, but I will say that more than 32% of body fat indicates that a woman is already in the category of “overweight”.
I hope this article was useful for you, and you learned a lot of useful and necessary information for you.
And I wish you to be healthy and not get hung up on the press cubes, because health is a thousand times more important than some cubes there. We have one, and it can be easily and irretrievably lost! And we have six cubes, they are with us forever and you can always buy them if you wish =))
Sincerely yours, Yaneliya Skripnik!
This body fat calculator uses a formula to measure the volume of 3-4 body parts containing fat using a special formula and is widely used by the US Navy to estimate body fat percentage. Online calculator body fat can be useful to give you a general idea of what percentage of body fat you have. By entering information about the height and volume of the body, the calculator can give general information about the proportion of body fat.
Online fat calculator. Instructions.
You need to measure with a tape measure to the nearest 0.5 cm / 0.25 inch in the following places:
- Neck: measure below the larynx, tilting it slightly down in front of you.
- Waist: women at the narrowest point; men at the level of the navel.
- Hips (women only): at its widest point. Men's hips do not need to be measured and entered into the calculator.
These figures are only a rough guide. The above calculations are just a guideline and do not take into account personal factors such as your level. physical training, muscle mass and other factors. If you are in doubt about your weight, contact your healthcare provider.
Average body fat percentage
When someone hears the term ", then usually this concept is associated with something from the terminology of professional bodybuilders. This is because there is quite a bit of buzz about low fat in bodybuilding circles. To be competitive, pros must have a very low body fat percentage (5% or so). While this raises awareness of low body fat development, it also creates a rather limited perception. Body fat percentage means different things at different levels. In fact, for the average person, 5% fat can cause serious health problems. Conversely, 25% body fat can be either healthy or unhealthy depending on your age and gender. To ensure clarity, it's best to pay attention to the body fat percentage scale, and what they represent.
Average body fat percentage differs for men and women
When it comes to determining healthy body fat percentages, it's important to note the differences between men and women. In women, an indicator of good health is a higher percentage of body fat than in men. The reason for this is that women need more high level fat for a safe pregnancy. As a result, healthy, providing optimal health, will be different for different sexes.
- For women Between the ages of 20 and 40, between 19% and 26% body fat is generally good to excellent. For women aged 40+ to 60+, 23% to 30% is considered good to excellent.
- For men Between the ages of 20 and 40, 10% to 20% body fat is generally good to excellent. For men aged 40+ to 60+, 19% to 23% is considered good to excellent.
If the body fat percentage for both age groups is above the highest healthy percentages or below the lowest healthy percentages listed here, then the result can be considered fair or poor. Therefore, you should find a way to get rid of fat or raise it. Lose excess fat not that difficult, but some kind of exercise program is needed, as dieting alone will not help with fat loss.
There are contraindications, consult your doctor.
For most people, the concepts of "lose weight" and "lose weight" are identical in meaning. In reality, they are very different. You can lose weight by removing feces from the intestines. Therefore, according to many, you can lose weight with the help of laxatives or enemas. You can reduce body weight with diuretics. 2-3 liters of fluid will leave your body and the total weight will decrease.
Often a person who plays sports loses weight, but at the same time gains weight. Why? Because the fat is gone, and the muscles are growing. They are heavier than fat, so overall body weight may increase. In general, scales are a useful thing, but do not rely solely on them. No less important tools for controlling the figure are a measuring tape, as well as the most ordinary mirror. Look into it, you can see everything there. This is the easiest way to find out if you have extra pounds or not.
When losing weight, it is important to get rid of fat, and not to reduce body weight. The higher the percentage of fat in your body, the less attractive your figure looks. For men, the diagnosis "" is made if the fat is more than 25%, for women the upper limit of the norm is 32%.
The percentage of body fat in a woman (photo)
The percentage of fat in the body of a man (photo)
How is this indicator calculated? There are several methods. Some are complex, but more accurate, others are simple, but their disadvantage is a large error in the calculations. Let's start with the most effective way calculating the percentage of body fat.
X-ray absorption DEXA
An x-ray will help you measure your body fat percentage. This method is one of the most accurate. It will allow you to determine the mass of fat, muscles and bones. First, you will be enlightened, then the computer, based on the data received, will calculate all the necessary indicators.
But this method of measuring the percentage of body fat has a considerable number of disadvantages. Firstly , it requires special, expensive equipment, and the availability of specially trained medical personnel. As a result, the procedure will cost you a pretty penny. Secondly , you will receive a dose of X-ray radiation, and this is harmful to health. Thirdly if you live in a small town, it is not a fact that at least one of the local clinics practices a similar technique.
Hydrostatic weighing
The essence of the method is to measure the density of the human body. More density - less fat, less density - more fat. Special software allows you to calculate the percentage of fat with high accuracy. Mandatory conditions to improve the accuracy of the study - a person is immersed in a special tank of water on an empty stomach and with a minimum amount of air in the lungs.
It should be noted that the method is difficult to use, requires special equipment and trained personnel. The duration of the procedure for measuring the percentage of fat is 60 minutes. During this time, a person is immersed several times in a tank. The duration of one such dive is about 10 seconds.
For greater accuracy, three results are obtained and the arithmetic mean is displayed. The method is used exclusively in science and professional sports.
Measurement of bioelectrical resistance
Through the electrodes attached to the legs and arms through human body pass a small current. Adipose tissue conducts electricity poorly, muscle conducts well. When measuring resistance with special devices, the calculations take into account gender, age, height of a person. Generally speaking, what better body conducts current, the less fat it contains. Conducts worse - more fat.
The method is less accurate than hydrostatic weighing, but it can determine the approximate percentage of body fat. Measurements are carried out with a special device, so the method is not suitable for use at home. Sometimes the function of determining the percentage of fat using bioelectrical resistance is added to a conventional bathroom scale, but in this case, the accuracy of the calculation becomes even less.
It should also be noted that the data obtained will depend on some external and internal factors:
- skin condition;
- the amount of water drunk the day before;
- air temperature;
- air humidity;
- taking medications, etc.
All of them also create additional errors in the calculations.
Wrinkle thickness measurement
The undoubted advantage of the method is its general availability. The main disadvantage is low accuracy. The calculation does not take into account the number visceral fat, measure the volume and weight of the subcutaneous fat layer exclusively.
First, using a special caliper device (for lack of it, you can use a regular ruler, but the error will be greater), you measure the thickness of seven folds: on the abdomen, thigh, chest, triceps, armpit, under the shoulder blade and above the ilium.
To process the received data and calculate the percentage of fat, you need to use special program or online service. The internet is full of them. Enter all the indicators, select the gender, click on the button and get the result. The method is not exact, but free.
We have not listed all the ways to measure the percentage of fat, but only those that are used most often. Also, these indicators can be measured using ultrasound, infrared radiation, calculated based on the anthropometric data of a person. You can use any of these methods to find out how quickly you are moving towards your goal of a slim figure.
Source:
Similar articles:
Categories
- (30)
- (379)
- (101)
- (382)
- (198)
- (189)
- (35)
- (1369)
- (191)
- (243)
- (135)
- (134)
Body fat percentage is a great indicator of health and a metric to look at when losing weight. The average percentage of body fat in men and women is different, as in different age groups. In the table below, you can see the different body fat percentages for men and women, with a picture of what all these body fat percentages look like. Try measuring your body fat professionally, or use it to estimate your body fat percentage.
Average Fat Levels for Athletes
Percentage of fat from low to high
Fat Percentage |
Women |
Men |
|
Essential Fat: |
||
|
Skinny (athletic): |
||
|
Medium (Fitness): |
||
|
Acceptable: |
||
|
Obesity: |
Weight loss and minimum percentage of body fat
It is impossible to lower fat levels to zero. Body fat can be divided into essential fat and storage fat. Essential fat is essential for the proper functioning of the immune and hormonal systems and is found in major organs of the body such as the heart, lungs, bone marrow and muscles. Low level essential fat adversely affects physical and physiological health. Women have extra essential fat in their breasts, pelvis, and thighs, which is a biological necessity for childbearing. Essential fats make up at least 10-13% for women and 5% for men of total body weight. Storage fats, on the other hand, are used as fuel for the body when needed, and are essential for health as well. They protect internal organs chest and belly. The percentage of this fat fluctuates, as does weight, which changes as we gain or lose it.
Essential fats and some storage fats are essential for the normal functioning of the body. This is especially true for women, in whom very low body fat levels can cause menstrual irregularities/losses (amenorrhea), which in turn can lead to estrogen deficiency, infertility, hair loss, decreased bone density, and premature osteoporosis. As a general rule, any woman who strives to keep her body fat below 12-15% and/or overtrains will experience these disorders. However, much also depends on how and how it was supported. The point at which amenorrhea can occur for all women is different, for some it can be at the level of 18%, for others at 16% or 12%. It is important to understand that even with the resumption of normal menstruation, some of the changes that have occurred may be irreversible. For example, loss of bone minerals (increased risk of developing osteoporosis - bone fragility). This is especially true of adolescence, during which 60-80% of the bones of the skeleton are formed and fixed. Low levels of estrogen during this time will cause inhibition and suppression of normal sexual growth and development.
Amenorrhea is never healthy, desirable, or acceptable. This is a sign that something is wrong. If you have stopped menstruating after a period of weight loss, then you may have gone too far. Try gaining some weight and see if it restores your periods and check with your doctor.
Obesity and too much body fat
- The percentage of fat in the body of 30% is the limit for women, 35% is already clinical obesity. While in men the line is 25%, obesity is 30%.
- High body fat levels are a risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, certain cancers, and osteoarthritis.
- Excess fat makes it difficult to achieve results in sports. High body fat is a kind of "dead weight" that leads to reduced performance in speed, endurance, movement efficiency, agility, balance, and jumping ability. However, if you are overweight, you should not avoid exercise, just follow some simple exercise tips given on this site.
About fat cells
Body fat is stored in fat cells, and everyone is born with a certain amount of fat cells. And this number does not change. When we gain or lose weight, all that changes is the size of these fat cells - they can grow or shrink in size. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and there are two times when the number of fat cells can increase:
- During puberty, when the number of fat cells increases.
- With severe obesity (when more than 60% of body fat, i.e. 170% normal weight body), fat cells can no longer grow more and store more fat in themselves, because. have reached their limit in size, so additional fat cells begin to be produced.
When an adult loses fat, fat cells shrink in size. The only way to reduce the number of fat cells is to surgically remove them, i.e. liposuction. However, liposuction does not affect the size of the remaining fat cells and does not guarantee that they will stop growing. Thus, liposuction cannot guarantee the prevention of weight gain. Liposuction, like any fat removal procedure, is limited to only removing a relatively small number of fat cells.
In the very general view body fat percentage is the ratio of available fat to everything else in the body (organs, muscles, bones, tendons, etc.). Fat is necessary for survival: it protects the internal organs, serves as a reserve source of energy, and performs many other important functions.
How much fat do we need
This table shows the generally accepted body fat percentage for men and women.
Essential fat is the minimum you need to survive. For this reason, bodybuilders dry the body to this mark only before the competition. The rest of the time, they maintain a higher percentage of fat, so as not to undermine health and effectively.
- If you're aiming to be lean, aim for an athletic body fat percentage.
- If you want to look healthy and fit, aim for a body fat percentage for an athletic physique.
If your body fat percentage is approaching the maximum allowable value for a normal physique or falls under obesity, you would do well to reduce this figure.
What does body fat percentage look like?
nerdfitness.com 
nerdfitness.com It is important to understand that body fat percentage only reflects body fat and has nothing to do with muscle mass. Two people with the same body fat percentage but different muscle mass will look completely different.
How to measure body fat percentage
There are seven main methods that differ from each other in accuracy, simplicity and cost.
1. Visual way
It consists in comparing yourself with the pictures above and determining who you are approximately similar to. A very imprecise way.
2. Using a caliper
Pull back the skin with subcutaneous fat, grab it with the caliper and find the percentage of fat corresponding to the readings of the caliper in the table. As a rule, calipers show a lower percentage of fat than they actually are.
3. Using the formula
For example, you can use the US Navy formula or the YMCA formula. This method is usually wrong in a big way.
4. With electric monitors
A weak electric current is passed through the body, and then a "biometric resistance" analysis is performed. As practice has shown, this method gives very inaccurate results.
5. With Bod Pod System
With the help of a special device, the air displaced by the body is measured, based on the data obtained, the body mass, its volume and density are calculated. This method is considered very accurate, but expensive.
6. Water displacement method
Very accurate (with an error of only 1–3%), but an expensive, complicated and inconvenient method.
7. dexa scan
This method is considered the most accurate and consists in a complete study of body composition using x-rays. It's also a very inexpensive way.
Whatever method you choose, try to take measurements at the same time and under similar conditions: for example, on a certain day of the week, in the morning, on an empty stomach. Even if the data received is inaccurate, you will be able to understand if there is progress.
How to reduce body fat percentage
calorie deficit
Spend more than you consume. But keep in mind that if you do not exercise at the same time and limit yourself in carbohydrates, then along with fat you will lose muscle mass. It's not the best The best way however fat loss is guaranteed.
Pull the iron
When training with weights (as well as during intensive training with own weight) you maintain muscle mass, as well as accelerate metabolism and achieve the effect of "afterburning", when calories continue to be consumed after the end of the workout.
