Healthy fat percentage

Calculating body fat percentage

Calculating one’s body fat percentage is important to general health and successful aging, many say.

Studies have shown that a typical person loses muscle steadily and starts gaining fat rapidly at the age of 20.

So, even if a person maintains a steady weight, there is a good chance that the body fat amounts are increasing and their lean muscle mass is decreasing.

The loss of muscle and increase of fat can lead to a decrease in bone density, a reduction in flexibility and a decline in aerobic power.

It is, therefore, important to measure the body fat percentage in order to see first hand the changes that are occurring in the body and then choosing to do something about it.

Body fat and athletics

Excess amounts of body fat can hinder a person’s performance in sports. Even though there are many allstar football players with large bellies it is important to remember that the weight is not that important. What is more important is how much of a person’s body weight is made up of muscle and how much is made up of fat.

When a person has too much body fat, they are more susceptible to injuries, because fat is “dead weight” that reduces speed and decreases the efficiency of one’s movements.

This means that having too much fat will hurt a person’s jumping, running, agility and endurance abilities.

Ideal body fat percentage

There is no absolute perfect fat percentage. It all depends on the age and gender of a person. All individuals are different and some people might perform better with more or less fat on their bodies, it all depends.

Here are some general guidelines, however.

For females up to the age of 30, having a body fat percentage in between 14 and 21 percent is ideal.

More men up to the age of 30, the best body ft percentage is in between 11 and 17 percent.

For women in between the ages of 30 and 50, the ideal body fat percentage increases, but not much, and is in between 15 and 23 percent.

For men between the age of 30 and 50, the change is similar, and the ideal body fat percentage is in between 12 and 19 percent in this instance.

However, it is important to remember that a certain amount of body fat is vital for the body to function in a healthy manner. It should also be made very clear that striving for a body fat percentage that is too low can be very unhealthy and even dangerous.