Percentage of body fat: general information. The percentage of fat in the body is an important criterion for health and beauty

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 excess weight, 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 accurately state that “this” indicator or “this” is the ideal percentage of 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

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 the 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

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 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 sports supplements food 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 performing athletes, 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 there is one more important point that I would like to mention. 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!

You can find out the ratio of fat, water and muscle in your body at any medical center. Doctors can take measurements using a special device - a caliper, or using computed tomography. There is also such a study as a bioelectrical analysis of body composition.

If you do not have the opportunity to undergo a special examination at the medical center, you can take approximate measurements at home. To do this, you need Sheldon's classification, which he made in the last century, having studied the data of about 50 thousand people. Sheldon believed that all people are divided into three types. The first is people who do not have problems with excess weight, they have narrow bones and long arms and legs. The scientist called such people ectomorphic. They usually have a small percentage of fat and muscle in the body. The second type is people with wide bones. Sheldon named them. They usually have more muscle in their bodies than fat. The third type is overweight people. Sheldon called them endomorphs. In their body, usually fat prevails over muscle mass.

In its most general form, the percentage of body fat is the ratio of available fat to everything else that is 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?

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. This is not the best way, but fat loss is guaranteed.

Pull the iron

When training with weights (as well as during intense training with your own weight), you maintain muscle mass, as well as accelerate your metabolism and achieve a "afterburn" effect, where calories continue to be consumed after the workout is over.

Greetings ladies and gentlemen! Today we are waiting for another interesting note, and it will be devoted to such a concept as the percentage of fat in the body. During it, we will consider both the theoretical side of the issue - norms, tables, percentages, and the practical one - how you can independently measure your body fat, and what conclusions can be drawn from this.

I don't dare to detain anyone else, let's get started.

Body Fat Percentage: Theoretical Foundations

Are you familiar with the concept of a bestseller? If not, then in a nutshell - this is an item that has received wide recognition, wild popularity and, as a result of all this, has sold out in large numbers. So, the project has a number of such bestsellers (which, of course, cannot but please their author), i.e. articles that received the most views, likes, responses and questions. One of them is a practical article. Whoever has not yet familiarized herself with her, do me a favor, testify to her respect. Our current article is the percentage of body fat, just from the same series, i.e. it will be applied in nature and will help to solve various "measuring" issues.

And I would like to start with this.

Each person who decides to engage in the transformation of his body, i.e. who embarked on the path of bodybuilding (fitness), must master many professions at once. These include:

• nutritionist - questions of proper nutrition;
• personal trainer / instructor - drawing up training programs, studying the technique of performing exercises;
• anatomist - questions of anatomy, muscle structure, functions performed, exercise kinesiology;
• “tailor” is a measure of one’s own body, its proportions, and so on.

Therefore, if you still think that bodybuilders are dumb jocks, then reconsider your views on this issue. It is unlikely that a person who is fluent in so many professions can be called stupid.

Body fat percentage: basic measurements

In this note, we will continue to deepen our knowledge in the direction of anthropometry and get acquainted with such a basic concept as Body Composition, or body composition. It is he who has a significant impact on human health and physical performance. When it comes to measurements and body composition, the average person imagines the following running metrics - weight, height and uniform measurements.

However, everything is much wider, and there is 4 the main components that fully characterize the Body Composition:

1. General body fat. These include essential/important fat - needed for optimal functioning and fat storage - a place (or places) for excess energy.
2. Mass without fat. Consists mainly of protein and water. Skeletal muscle is the main component of lean mass, but organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver, etc. are also included in this mass.
3. Bone minerals. An inorganic component of bone that is critical to body structure and some metabolic processes.
4. Water in the body. The average body weight of an adult is about 65%-70% percent consists of water. This is also taken into account in various methods for determining body composition.

In the picture it looks like this:

As you probably understood, today we will deal with body fat, i.e. with the total percentage of fat in the body, and how to measure it. Before moving on to the practical part, let's remember what functions adipose tissue performs, what two types of fat exist.

So, fat protects organs, cushions joints, regulates temperature, stores vitamins, and acts as an energy store for the body. Fats are important flavor carriers in foods, which is one of the reasons we enjoy eating them.

There are two types of fat in the human body: 1) subcutaneous (outwardly visible)- adipose tissue that lies superficially and close to the skin; 2) visceral (internal) - adipose tissue around the central organs. Subcutaneous fat is less metabolically active, visceral fat is more active and is quickly broken down to be mobilized.

Note:

When a person begins to lose weight, the first place where fat leaves is the stomach. Decreased body weight by 5-10% can lead to a reduction in abdominal fat by 10-30% . Also good news for those who go on a diet - visceral fat is reduced to a greater extent, because it is more metabolically active and is destroyed faster than subcutaneous fat.

Percentage of body fat in men and women

It should be borne in mind that men and women have different amounts of fat reserves, and this is due, first of all, to our different biological nature and hormones. On average, the percentage of body fat in the fair sex is 5-8% more men and is approximately 23-25% .

There are certain tables / charts that reflect the percentage of body fat for men and women depending on age, here is one of them.

To make the numbers not so dry, I will give a picture gallery of both sexes in terms of body fat content.

Percentage of body fat in women:

Percentage of body fat in men:

I think comments are unnecessary, everything is already quite clear, the less fat - the more prominent the muscles (if it exists, of course). For the average gym user (male), in order to look in the body, it is enough to keep your fat within 15-20% . Percentage of adipose tissue within 3-7% - this is already the level of competitive athletes who show their bodies on stage, and the outline of the muscles for them is not an empty shaking of the air.

If the beach season is on the nose, and you want to show off the relief press from 6 cubes, then you need to bring the percentage of body fat to 10-12% . Otherwise, you will not see any cubes, there will be only one solid ball :).

Note:

You can pump up the abdominal muscles to cubes, but because of the fatty layer on the stomach, you will never see them.

For people who visit the gym, it is very important to learn how to take measurements correctly and determine their own percentage of fat. After all, if the latter is lost, and at the same time muscle mass is preserved, then the training proceeds in a constructive way, you improve your compositional body proportions.

There is at least about 10 methods to measure the percentage of body fat. You will hardly ever get acquainted with most of them, because this requires special medical equipment. And this means that you need to throw yourself into the local clinic or private doctor's offices / laboratories, unfasten a couple of crisp pieces of paper, and eventually put the results in the closet.

It seems to me that few people want to do this, and super-jewelry accuracy is especially useless. Therefore, we will consider only feasible ways to measure adipose tissue, but this is the story of the next chapter.

How to measure body fat percentage: the easiest and most effective way

Well, we got to the most delicious part of the article - the practical one. In it, we will finally learn how to properly measure our “lard”, what gestures will have to be performed for this. In general, between us, there are even simpler methods for measuring body fat than we will consider below. And they are called like this:

• "Light, my mirror, tell me." It consists in a striptease down to underwear and watching your reflection. The main measure is one's own objectivity and a healthy view of oneself from the outside. You have to take a look at your body, spin around the mirror and fix whether there is something superfluous “dangling” somewhere, whether there are folds, obvious imbalances, and so on. If you tell yourself that everything is normal, but an inner voice tells you that it's time to sign up for a gym, then it's better to do so.
• wardrobe method. Far from the most accurate (like the previous one), but he is quite capable of identifying the general trend. It consists in measuring clothes - i.e. You put on clothes and after some time see if you “fit” into it and, most importantly, how you fit. If earlier the entry-exit procedure was carried out easily and unpretentiously, and after a while it became simply impossible to do without assistants, then the adipose tissue has clearly increased, you have become heavier.

A more accurate reliable home method is the caliperometry method - the measurement of fat folds. All we need is a pharmacy device called a caliper, which costs rubles 200 from strength. Very economical can use a caliper and tape measure.

So, the caliper is a device that measures the thickness of the fold of your skin with its main layer of fat. By taking measurements in key places (points on the body), you can accurately determine the total amount (percentage) of subcutaneous fat.

Before moving on to the most creative process - examining yourself with this device, let's clarify some technical details that will help improve the accuracy of measurements. First of all, remember the following rules for using the caliper.

Rules for using the caliper

Rule #1

Measurements are best done by two people. (i.e. You should be measured by someone, not yourself).

Rule #2

If you are right-handed, pull out the fold of skin with the main layer of fat with your left hand and hold it with the fingers of your left hand. Then hold the caliper in your right hand and place its jaws as shown in the picture below (point #1). In general, the process of pinching looks like this.

Rule #3

The jaws of the caliper should be about 7,5 mm from the fingers of the left hand, which continues to hold the fold.

Rule #4

Release the caliper trigger. All the strength of his jaws should fall on the skin fold. Do not let go of the fingers of your left hand while taking readings.

Rule #5

It is important to firmly hold the skin fold with your fingers so that the jaws of the device fix the entire thickness of the fold.

Rule #6

When you place the gauges on the skin fold, they (jaws) will move apart a little. (creep effect) when this passes, it is the best time to take measurements.

Rule #7

No significant pressure should be applied to the caliper jaws prior to release.

Note:

Further narration for better understanding will take place in the form of “question-answer”.

So, we come to the most important thing, namely ...

Body fat percentage: where to take measurements

Point number 1. Triceps

The back of the top of the arm is a place halfway between the shoulder and elbow joints. The fold is taken in a vertical direction, immediately in the center of the back of the arm.

Point number 2. Biceps

Front of the hand. The measurement is made in the same way as for the triceps, except that the crease is in the front.

Point number 3. shoulder blade

The measuring point is just below the shoulder blade. The fold is taken at an angle 45 degrees as shown in the figure.

Point number 4. Waist

The site is just above the iliac crest (protrusion of the pelvic bone), slightly towards the front of the waist. The fold is taken slightly at an angle, as shown in the figure.

How to use the received data and calculate the percentage of body fat

Take measurements as shown in the pictures. (record readings on the caliper scale). You should succeed 4 values ​​in millimeters. Then add up the four measurements. The percentage of fat is determined from the calculation tables. Of course, the tables are not given for every millimeter, therefore, in order to get exact numbers, it is necessary to interpolate (finding intermediate unknown values ​​from the existing set of known ones).

Note:

An example of how to correctly find intermediate values. Women in age groups 16-29 years may have a sum 29 mm for four dimensions. It's halfway between 28 and 30 on the chart. Fat Percentage for 28 mm= 18,6% , and for 30 =19,5% . Interpolation gives approximately 19,0% . Another example would be a 40-year-old man with a sum 42 mm for four dimensions. Referring to the graph for men, we find intermediate percentage values, these are 40 and 45 mm. 42 mm are 2/5 paths between 40 and 45 . fat for 48 mm is 20,3% , and for 45 mm= 21,8% . Two-fifths of the way 20,3 before 21,8 about 20,9% .

The following table will help you calculate the percentage of body fat throughout your life :).

Knowing the amount of your “lard”, of course, is interesting, but from a practical point of view, this does little. And all because a change of X percent is very difficult to visually notice. However, when the waist is reduced by 1,5-2 see, this will be felt without any measurements, and not only by you, but also by the surrounding population.

In conclusion, I would like to consider a practical example that will allow you to better assess how your body composition has changed depending on a particular workout.

For example, we have a man weighing 95 kg. He measures his body fat percentage and gets the value 30% . multiplying 95 kg per 30% we get 28,5 kg is the total weight of the subcutaneous fat of a man. subtracting 28,5 kg from 95 kg, we get muscle mass in 66,5 kg.

Suppose that after a month of regular exercise and , the weight has dropped to 88 kg and percent fat became 25% . multiplying 88 on the 25% , we get the weight of fat 22 kg. subtracting from 88 kg body weight 22 kg of fat 66 kg of muscle mass.

Conclusion: for 1 a month of training, a person lost half a kilogram of muscle and 6,5 kg of fat is a very good result, which means that such a program and diet work!

Note:

Remember that when you lose fat, you also lose muscle. In general, this ratio = 1/3, i.e. on the 1 kg of muscle lost accounts for about 3 kg of fat.

Well, actually, now everything is for sure, I consider my mission accomplished, and the article completed. Let's wrap up and say goodbye.

Afterword

Another practical article has been written, today we talked about the percentage of body fat, how to measure it, and what it should be. I am sure that now you will easily learn how to do this and will know in which direction you need to adjust your training program and nutrition issues. And that means you will take another step towards the body of your dreams! Good luck freezing. And to the connection!

PS. Do you have any questions, misunderstandings, etc.? Then don't leave until you get an answer to them via the comment form.

P.P.S. Did the project help? Then leave a link to it in the status of your social network - plus 100 points to karma, guaranteed.

With respect and gratitude, Dmitry Protasov.

Determining the percentage of body fat is the only accurate way to evaluate the effectiveness of or. At the same time, the “usual” figure on the scales and the weight in kilograms can distort the real situation, since, for example, during the period of weight loss, the body tends to replace part of the lost fat with water.

Calculating the percentage of body fat is simple - for this you need to divide the fat mass in the body by the total weight. For example, if you have 10 kg of fat with a total weight of 70 kg, then the percentage of fat will be 10/70 = 14.3%. However, the key difficulty is that you need to know exactly how much fat you have.

Ideal Fat Level

For men, 6-13% fat means a toned athletic physique and a fairly sculpted press, 14-17% means good physical shape with a small amount of fat reserves in problem areas, 18-25% means an average level of shape, above 25% - obesity.

For girls, the figures for the level of fat in the body are slightly higher - an athletic physique is characterized by 14-20%, a good physical shape - 21-24%, an average level of fat - 25-31%. It should also be noted that the level of fat below 10% is quite dangerous for the female body and leads to the cessation of the menstrual cycle.

Electronic body analysis systems

The action of electronic systems for analyzing body composition and determining the percentage of body fat is based on passing extremely weak and safe electric currents through tissues and then analyzing the speed of passage and the percentage of signal loss. Adipose tissue delays the signal, while water and muscles conduct it almost entirely.

In fact, this method does not determine the percentage of fat in your body, but only compares the indicators with the average numbers stored in the device’s memory and shows an approximate result. The final error depends both on the number of measuring electrodes, and on body temperature, the presence of food in the stomach, and other factors.

Floor scales for body composition analysis

Floor scales with body composition analysis function are one of the least accurate methods for measuring body fat. By sending a weak current through one leg, the balance "waits" for it on the other and determines the percentage of losses. Unfortunately, the resulting loss of signal can be caused by many reasons, and not at all by the actual composition of the body.

It is also interesting that many similar scales (both expensive and cheap) record the results of the last weighing in memory - after re-measuring after a few minutes, they only give out the old figure. Since the value of the percentage of fat does not change, the person mistakenly believes that the scale has determined it accurately. This is the intention of the manufacturer.

The most accurate electronic scales

Unfortunately, most electronic scales for determining the level of body fat show an extremely inaccurate figure - in some cases, the result may differ from the real one at times. The only reliable way to use electronic scales will be to follow the trend - let the number lie, but it is important to increase or decrease over time.

The presence of additional handles significantly reduces the error and allows you to determine the fat content in the body more accurately - however, such scales are much more expensive than usual ones. The price of professional scales of the Tanita brand can reach up to 200 thousand rubles, and home models from this brand cannot cost less than 15-20 thousand rubles.

Measuring fat with a caliper

The simplest and most accessible method for determining body fat is to measure the subcutaneous fat fold with a caliper-like device (“caliper”) and compare the result with a calculation table. This table contains a comparison of the thickness of the fat fold in millimeters and the approximate percentage of body fat.

Although caliper measurements are more accurate than measurements with simple electronic scales with a body analysis function, this method does not take into account the presence at all. But, again, for assessing the progress of a fat burning diet or when training for cutting, a home measurement of fat levels with a caliper is the easiest.

How to measure body fat with a caliper?

The measurement technique for determining the level of fat using a caliper is simple - you need to stand up straight, determine a point 10 cm to the right of the navel at a height of 3-4 cm from the edge of the protruding femur, then pinch the skin and fat in this place, and then measure the thickness of this clamping with a caliper (or, in its absence, with a caliper).

The measurement result in millimeters and your age is compared with the table below - at the intersection is a figure showing the predicted fat content in your body. The table also shows whether this indicator is in the high, medium or low zone. As FitSeven wrote above, these data are different for men and women.

***

To calculate the percentage of body fat, you first need to determine the physical mass of fat reserves in the body. The only direct method for determining this figure is weighing in a special bath (this method is used in sports), and all other methods are indirect and may contain a significant measurement error.