Guidelines for Body Fat Percentages

How does your Body Fat Percentage Stack Up?

Having a regular assessment is a key component in monitoring your health profile and determining your progress with any changes you've made in lifestyle or training. It is also a great motivator as provides a platform for setting new targets and goals.

While in some cases body fat is aesthetically pleasing or may enhance sport performance, generally it has been found that excess body fat can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, as we age our metabolism slows down, making it increasingly difficult to maintain a healthy Body Fat Percentage.

So how do you find out your Body Fat Percentage?

There are a number of ways to determine you Body Fat Percentage, the most accurate of which is hydrostatic weighing, but due to it's inconvenience and cost this technique is rarely used. An inexpensive method is to have your Skinfolds done, however this requires the skills of a health professional trained to accurately use Skinfold Calipers. The quickest and easiest method for getting an accurate body fat percentage is with a bio-electrical impedance monitor which can synonymously provide data on your hydration levels, Basal Metabolic Rate, bone and muscle mass etc. (see our range of Tanita Body Fat ScalesBody Weight and Fat Scales)

How does Bio-electrical Impedence Work?

In a nut shell our body is composed of bone, fat, muscle and water each of which have a different conductivity to electrical current. Through electrodes applied to your body or underfoot Bio-electrical Impedence monitors measure the speed that an electrical signal travels through your body. By applying this information to a complex proven formula the monitor will calculate your body fat percentage (see our range of Tanita Innerscan Body Composition Scales).

Where does your Body Fat Percentage leave you?

A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily functions.  Fat regulates body temperature, cushions and insulates organs and tissues and is the main form of the body's energy storage. The American Council on Exercise has produced the following table which categorises ranges of body fat percentages:

Description	Women	Men
Essential Fat	10-12%	2-4%
Athletes	14-20%	6-13%
Fitness	21-24%	14-17%
Acceptable	25-31%	18-24%
Obese	32%+	25%+

How do these figures effect you?

Your body fat percentage is just that, the percentage of fat your body contains. So if you were 90kg woman with 35% body fat, you would have 58½kg of lean body mass (bone, muscle, organs etc.) and 31½kg fat. These are important figures to know when setting weight based targets. For example it would be unrealistic for this person to set a weight goal of 64kg as this would leave her with less than 10% body fat. A healthy weight range for her would be between 78kg and 85kg.

Knowing your body fat percentage and composition is an important component is determining your progress and success with any lifestyle or training modifications. These figures will help you set and stay on track with your training goals, reignite your enthusiasm and track your progress. You can get your Body Fat Percentage and Composition assessed by contacting Pulse Personal Training.

By Hamish Abbie BPhEd, BComm, CHEK L1, XLR8 Coach, REPs - 08/04/2007

Pulse Personal Training – It’s About Success - www.PulsePT.co.nz