What Is a Healthy Body Fat Percentage?

How much body fat you carry can be tremendously stigmatizing in the United States. The quest for the “ideal body” has always changed based on social norms at any given time. Current ideas about body fat in the U.S. have emerged from a lot of places — one of which was World War I food conservation propaganda in the early 1900s. The war collided with the newly discovered concept of energy balance.

Calorie counting became a civic duty, and having extra body fat was seen as a form of “hoarding food.” Stigmatizing beliefs about body fat still exist over 100 years later, making body fat perhaps the most polarizing tissue in the human body. (1)

While body fat gets plenty of bad press for its role in various disease processes, it’s important to recognize the ways that body fat can support health and athletic performance, as well. Body fat is more than a passive storage space. It plays such an important role in metabolic function and hormone production that it’s considered an endocrine organ. (2) 

So, how do we determine what level of body fat is considered ‘healthy’? The answer is more complex than you might expect.

What Is Body Fat?

Body fat, or adipose tissue, is primarily made up of cells filled mostly with triglycerides. Adipose tissue also contains many other cells, including immune and connective tissue cells, and it’s capable of producing hormones that influence inflammation, metabolism, and hunger. (2) 

Triglycerides are the storage form of fatty acids, which can be absorbed from the diet or synthesized from excess carbohydrates and (to a lesser extent) amino acids. The hormone insulin stimulates some triglyceride formation and storage after meals. But this doesn’t mean that weight gain is caused by eating fat or carbohydrates. (2)(3)

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When someone frequently eats more calories than they require to maintain their body weight, their fat cells will accumulate and store more triglycerides over time, resulting in more body fat. On the other hand, when a person is in a calorie deficit for an extended period, those triglycerides will be broken down between meals to release the stored fatty acids for energy, resulting in fat loss. (2)

What Hormones Are Produced by Body Fat?

Human fat cells can produce the hormones leptin and adiponectin to help regulate metabolism and body fat levels. Leptin levels increase with body fat, so as body fat goes up, more leptin is produced. It binds to cells in the brain and liver to reduce food intake and increase energy expenditure. (2)

Adiponectin has the opposite relationship with body fat; higher body fat levels mean lower levels of adiponectin. Among other functions, adiponectin helps to regulate insulin sensitivity and blood sugar while promoting the breakdown of fatty acids. So, higher body fat levels could lead to insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar due, in part, to lower levels of adiponectin. (2)

What Is the Difference Between Total Body Fat and Body Fat Percentage?

Total body fat is expressed in weight, whereas body fat percentage is the portion of a person’s weight that comes from body fat.

For example, if one person weighs 200 pounds and another person weighs 230 pounds, and they both have 20 pounds of body fat, their total body fat is the same. Their body fat percentages would be different, though. A person weighing 200 pounds would have 10 percent body fat, while a person weighing 230 pounds would have about 8.5 percent body fat. 

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Body fat percentage describes someone’s body composition or the amount of body fat they have relative to their total body weight, which includes many other components like bone, muscle, and skin. This percentage provides more context about their potential health status than total body fat alone. (4)

What Is the Difference Between Body Fat Percentage and Body Mass Index?

Body mass index (BMI) was originally intended to estimate body fat levels and predict future potential health issues in populations. However, it only takes height and body weight into account, so it doesn’t provide any information about body fat percentage. (4)

BMI also misses other important factors, like body fat distribution, bone density, and differences between genders, races, and ethnicities. Many athletes are incorrectly categorized as overweight based on their BMI because they have more muscle mass than the average person. (4)

Similarly, a person can have a BMI that’s considered normal but still be at risk of chronic diseases and frailty later in life due to low levels of muscle mass, with or without high levels of body fat. (5)

What Is a Healthy Body Fat Percentage? 

Health is a complex concept that encompasses more than physical health or levels of body fat. Even the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition of health — “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” — has come under scrutiny for being too simplified and unrealistic. (6) 

For this article, a body fat percentage is considered healthy if it’s associated with a comparatively low risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, cancer, all-cause mortality, or psychological harm.

There’s a Wide Range of Healthy Body Fat Percentages

Although a recent study estimated that 25 percent body fat was associated with the lowest all-cause mortality risk, the range of healthy body fat percentages is fairly broad at 12 to 22 percent in cisgender men and 20 to 33 percent in cisgender women. (7)(8)(9) 

However, with some diseases, having obesity or being considered overweight (by BMI standards) can improve survival rates. This is known as the “obesity paradox,” and while it hasn’t been fully explained, some theorize that the extra energy reserves (in the form of body fat) play a role. (10) 

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It’s also important to note that people with typical levels of body fat can still develop metabolic risk factors, like elevated triglycerides, if they’re sedentary. (11)(12)(5)

Note: There aren’t yet sufficient studies including nonbinary people and transgender people with different experiences of medical transition.

There Are Health Risks Associated with Higher or Lower Body Fat Percentages

In people categorized as normal weight or overweight by BMI standards, body fat percentages above 23 percent in cis men or 33 percent in cis women have been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality compared to people with lower body fat percentages. (5)(13)(14)

Essential fat levels, which are the minimum necessary to maintain normal bodily functions, are estimated to be around three to five percent in cis men and eight to 12 percent in cis women. 

Physique athletes, such as bodybuilders, reduce their body fat to low levels like these for competitions, resulting in thyroid, immune, and reproductive hormone suppression. This can lead to irregular periods, loss of bone mineral density, and an increased risk of injury and illness. Athletic performance suffers as well. (14)

Quality of life and mental health can also be negatively impacted by body fat levels outside the ranges considered to be healthy for most people. These effects are linked to social and psychological factors — like weight stigma, body image, and disordered eating behaviors — rather than body fat. (14)(15)

How Do I Calculate My Body Fat Percentage? 

There are several ways to measure body fat percentage. No method is 100 percent accurate, but they can provide estimates used to track changes in body composition and body fat measurements over time. 

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)

BIA estimates body fat percentage by sending a weak electrical current through the body. Electricity moves through muscle and water more easily than it does through fat, so the machine estimates the amount of muscle, water, and fat based on the conductivity of a person’s body. 

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This method is one of the easiest, but it can also be pretty inaccurate because it can be thrown off by hydration status. (16)

Skinfold Testing

Skinfold measurements use a pair of calipers to assess skin thickness at multiple sites. That number is then plugged into specific equations to calculate an estimated body fat percentage. The accuracy of these tests depends on several factors, including the skill level of the tester and the number of sites measured. (16)

Hydrostatic Weighing and BodPod

Hydrostatic or underwater weighing and the BodPod (also known as air displacement plethysmography) both estimate body composition based on the different densities of muscle and fat tissue. Because muscle is more dense than fat, it takes up less space (or volume), displacing less water or air. 

These methods are accurate, but not as widely available as BIA or skinfold tests. (16)

Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) Scan

A DEXA scan is one of the most accurate methods for measuring body composition. Weak X-rays scan the body for 10 to 20 minutes, measuring body fat, muscle mass, and bone mineral density. 

Like hydrostatic weighing and the BodPod, these can be hard to access outside a clinical or research setting. (16)

Does Body Fat Percentage Matter? 

A person’s body fat percentage alone is somewhat informative, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Other factors — like fat distribution and physical activity habits or fitness level — must be considered when linking body fat percentage to overall health risks.

Fat distribution is dictated largely by genetics and hormones, and it generally falls into two categories: around the abdomen (or android) or around the hips and thighs (or gynoid). 

Fat stored under the skin is called subcutaneous fat, while visceral fat is stored around the internal organs. Compared to subcutaneous fat stored around the hips, visceral abdominal fat is linked to a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality. (10)(13)

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Physical activity protects against conditions like type-2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease across a broad range of body fat percentages, whereas a sedentary lifestyle is linked to metabolic risk factors regardless of body composition. (11) 

Studies have shown that physical activity is one of the key differences between people who have obesity-related metabolic diseases versus metabolically healthy obesity. (12)(17)

How Do I Reduce My Body Fat? 

If you’re already within the healthy range of body fat percentage, physically active, and metabolically healthy, further fat loss isn’t necessarily going to improve your health. If you’re an athlete, it could improve your performance or place you in a different weight class. 

To protect yourself against disordered eating habits often associated with attempts at fat loss, consider balancing body image and mental health needs with body composition aspirations. (18)(19)

Fat loss can improve health outcomes in people with elevated levels of body fat, but it doesn’t have to involve rigid diets or extreme exercise regimens. It only requires that you sustain a calorie deficit, which you can do by changing your eating habits, increasing your physical activity level, or a combination of both. The key to sustainable fat loss is making sustainable changes. (20) 

Step One: Estimate Your Sustainable, Healthy Weight Range

Drastic weight loss isn’t necessary. Studies show that a five to 10 percent reduction in body weight can improve metabolic risk factors in people with obesity or those considered overweight by BMI standards, and people can be healthy within a wide range of body fat percentages. (21)

For people in recovery from eating disorders, working with a clinician who can provide trauma-informed care may be a much better fit than trying to look at or calculate numbers and goals on your own.

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If looking at numbers is safe for you and you know your current body composition, you can calculate your healthy weight range with the following formula:

• Target weight = lean mass weight / (100 percent – desired percent body fat)

For example, if you currently weigh 220 pounds with 30 percent body fat, you have 154 pounds of lean mass and 66 pounds of body fat. With a goal body fat percentage of 20 percent, your formula would look like this:

• Target weight = 154/(100-.20)

Your target weight would be about 193 pounds, which would involve losing 27 pounds. 

This is just one example, though; ideally, you’d calculate this for the upper and lower ranges of healthy body fat percentages and choose the most realistic goal — not necessarily the lowest. If calculations like this aren’t your thing, stick with the goal of a five to 10 percent reduction in body weight instead.

Step Two: Safely Create a Calorie Deficit

There are many ways to create a calorie deficit, but not all methods are safe and sustainable. Using a nutrition tracker can be helpful for some people, but it isn’t a good fit for everyone.

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Other alternatives include:

• Reducing portion sizes with plate-planning and hand-size portion estimates
• Swapping highly-processed, calorie-dense foods, like white bread or frozen burritos, for minimally-processed, whole foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean protein sources (22)
• Focusing on eating satisfying meals in response to hunger, stopping when satisfied, and finding other ways to meet your needs if you notice that you eat when you’re not hungry (23)(24)
• Increasing physical activity, either through planned exercise or general movement throughout the day

However you choose to create a calorie deficit, it’s best to make small, realistic, sustainable changes over time, and to keep your deficit no higher than 300 to 500 calories per day. While you’ll likely lose weight quickly with extreme diets and exhausting workout routines, you’re also more likely to lose muscle mass and could find yourself stuck in a cycle of yo-yo dieting. (18)(25)

Maintain Your Muscle Mass

Whether or not you decide to lose body fat, muscle mass is critical to your long-term health and quality of life. The calorie deficits required for fat loss can also lead to the loss of lean muscle, but you can minimize or prevent that with resistance training and a prudent calorie deficit. 

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You could also pursue a body recomposition goal rather than a fat loss goal. It’s a slower process but provides the benefits of muscle gain and fat loss without the downsides. (25) 

Each Body Is Different

The relationship between body fat and health is complex. It isn’t just the amount of body fat that determines its effects on one’s health. Other factors — like physical activity habits, social stigmas, and fat distribution — can influence the way body fat affects health and disease risk. 

The “healthiest” body fat percentage for an individual would be the one that supports their physical health and performance without sacrificing their mental health or quality of life.

FAQs

With such a complicated topic, it’s understandable to have a lot of questions. Here are our answers.

References

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