Most people don’t know their body fat percentage.
This is as bad as not knowing how much money you spend. It’s a travesty, especially in the realm of health and physical fitness. Why is body fat percentage so important? It’s the single best indicator of body composition. Anyone who cares at all about their health should know approximately what their body fat percentage is. On the other hand, almost everyone knows how much they weigh. Weight is not a good indicator of body composition. Neither is Body Mass Index (BMI). You can obtain what is widely considered to be a normal BMI and still have all kinds of hidden health problems. That is not likely to be the case with body fat percentage. What is a healthy body fat percentage for men and women?
Looking good on the beach is a nice perk of having a healthy body fat percentage.
Short answer: see highlighted ranges below
| Description | Women | Men |
| Essential Fat | 10% – 13% | 2% – 5% |
| Athletes | 14% – 20% | 6% – 13% |
| Fitness | 21% – 24% | 14% – 17% |
| Acceptable | 25% – 31% | 18% – 24% |
| Obesity | >32% | >25% |
Source: American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Longer answer (my opinion):
A healthy body fat percentage for men is between 6% and 10%. A healthy body fat percentage for women is between 14% and 17%. I would target the lower end of the Athletes range for a couple of reasons. First, I believe that being an athlete is a minimum requirement for physical fitness. Second, you can probably get away with being reasonably fit and healthy in the upper ranges of Athlete, but that’s not what I want for you. I want you to be supremely fit and healthy and for that, you should develop an unquestionably athletic build. The Acceptable ranges in this chart are unacceptable. I was in the upper end of the Fitness range for several years and I felt sluggish and overweight. Be a little ambitious. With some effort, anyone can look and feel like some of the superstars we idolize in sports.
Does your age impact your body fat percentage?
In theory, it does. Your metabolism slows as you get older therefore making it more difficult to maintain low body fat levels. In reality, the decrease in your metabolism as a result of aging has a negligible effect compared to the effect of your overall lifestyle. In other words, age isn’t really a good excuse for having a high body fat percentage. I think all men and all women should target the lower ends of the Athlete ranges regardless of age. Due to a combination of factors, the average body fat percentage for both men and women increases with age. Therefore, older folks that hit an ambitious target and maintain an athletic body fat percentage will appear way more impressive among fellow people in their age group than younger folks will. Case in point: Mark Sisson.
How does a healthy body fat percentage tie in with the other two components of The Magic Trio?
As far as personal finance goes, people who have a healthy body fat percentage will suffer from fewer health problems and obesity-related illnesses than the rest of the population. There are some pretty staggering statistics out there on the price we pay for being an obese society. Here are a few from an episode of The Biggest Loser that really blew my mind:
• Overweight people pay $500 – $1,000 more on health insurance per year
• On average, obese people earn $7,000 less per year than their peers
• Americans spend $4.4 billion per year on gastric bypass surgery
• Americans spend $147 billion per year on obesity related health issues
• The average person will save $1 million over 40 years by going from obese to their ideal weight
What if you could save yourself from all of these expenses? That would certainly be a huge asset to have in building financial independence.
What about enjoying life? This one is pretty much a no-brainer isn’t it? By maintaining a healthy body fat percentage, you’ll obviously enjoy your life more because you will look and feel better. Carrying excess fat around is one of those things you get used to when you’re overweight, but that doesn’t mean it’s not destructive. Getting rid of excess fat will give you more energy and confidence than you can ever imagine. It’s night and day. My experience has been so positive that I can’t picture myself going back to the days of having excess fat. I’m certain that anyone else that has undergone significant fat loss feels the same way. It’s like owning a DVR or watching sports in HD. Once you switch, you can never revert back. Now that you know the healthy body fat percentage for men and women, it’s time to take action!
