phatgirl
New Member
HC & I were talking today about body fat percentage and neither of us knew what was a 'normoral/healthy' percentage. We talk so much about BMI but body fat percentage is also an indicator of health. Many newer scales have the body fat percentage as a feature. So I looked up the guidelines and here is what I found:
Range of Percent Body Fat in Different People
(Percent body fat found through the method of underwater immersion testing)
Fattest Covert has tested: Men 55% Women 68%
Average American: Men 22% Women 32%
Healthy normal*:
African-American Men 12% Women 19%
Asian Men 18% Women 25%
Caucasian Men 15% Women 22%
Top Athletes Men 3-12% Women 10-18%
Leanest Covert has tested Men 1% Women 6%
*The bones of African-Americans tend to be dense and so they sink easily in water. On the other hand, the bones of Asians are light and porous so they tend to float. To allow for these differences, healthy African-Americans should have a lower percent body fat than Asians and Caucasians, while Asians should have a higher percent body fat than African-Americans and Caucasians.
Link to calculator I used:
Home Body Fat Test
My result was 34.5% which is above normal and puts me in the unhealthy category. Alarmingly every calculator I used after I googled a few gave different results, some saying as high as 46%. There are many complex formulas that boggle my brain so it was hard to pick one. This one asked the most questions so I chose it. Have a look around the net if you are so inclined and post here if you find a better one.
My guess is that the one found in your home scale must be kind of simple since it doesn't have you enter your measurements, just you height & weight. Not sure though, don't have any real basis for that just guessing.
Nic
Range of Percent Body Fat in Different People
(Percent body fat found through the method of underwater immersion testing)
Fattest Covert has tested: Men 55% Women 68%
Average American: Men 22% Women 32%
Healthy normal*:
African-American Men 12% Women 19%
Asian Men 18% Women 25%
Caucasian Men 15% Women 22%
Top Athletes Men 3-12% Women 10-18%
Leanest Covert has tested Men 1% Women 6%
*The bones of African-Americans tend to be dense and so they sink easily in water. On the other hand, the bones of Asians are light and porous so they tend to float. To allow for these differences, healthy African-Americans should have a lower percent body fat than Asians and Caucasians, while Asians should have a higher percent body fat than African-Americans and Caucasians.
Link to calculator I used:
Home Body Fat Test
My result was 34.5% which is above normal and puts me in the unhealthy category. Alarmingly every calculator I used after I googled a few gave different results, some saying as high as 46%. There are many complex formulas that boggle my brain so it was hard to pick one. This one asked the most questions so I chose it. Have a look around the net if you are so inclined and post here if you find a better one.
My guess is that the one found in your home scale must be kind of simple since it doesn't have you enter your measurements, just you height & weight. Not sure though, don't have any real basis for that just guessing.
Nic
