Body Fat Percentage and BMI

Having excess body fat is a very common medical condition and potentially dangerous human beings today. It is potentially dangerous because it predisposes the person affected with diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, polycystic ovary syndrome, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and even cirrhosis of the liver! These are to name but a few of the health risks that may be caused by excess fat in the body. Gender, women should be more careful with weight gain because they have a higher percentage of body fat than men. That's just the way nature made it.

If you want to know if you are overweight or obese, you must calculate your body MASS INDEX; also known as BMI. It is really simple to do using this formula:

Your weight in kilograms divided by your height in centimeters (square) or Weight (kg) / height (cm)

The normal range of BMI of 18 to 24.9. If you are above 24.9, you are overweight and more than 29.9 is the beginning of obesity.If you fall into these categories, you need to lose weight to avoid the diseases mentioned above above.

Another way to tell if you have excess fat is to calculate your body fat percentage, this is the percentage of total body fat compared to the rest of the body mass. Body mass consists of tissues, organs and fluids such as bones, muscles, connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, etc.), brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, skin, blood, water, to name a few.

Total body fat can be divided into healthy fat (necessary) and unhealthy fat (useless). Fat healthy body is important for life and reproductive functions. You need a certain amount of fat in your body to protect your organs, keep warm and even to menstruate, conceive and bear children. Ever wondered why people really thin or those with anorexia nervosa have problems with their reproductive cycles? There's your answer.

Unhealthy body fat is what we should be concerned and seek to reduce. It is the excess fat in your adipose tissue, more common in the waist area in men and women and in the hips and buttocks of women. It is in other parts of the body as well as arms, thighs and upper back. Unfortunately, the percentage is higher in women than in men due to the reproductive function. Body fat percentage is a reflection of how you are fit: the higher it is, the better your fitness level and vice versa.

The question on your mind right now is probably '' What percentage HEALTHY BODY FAT? '' Your answer is: it differs between men and women. It should be between 8 and 14% for men and between 20 and 25% in women. If yours is higher than these ranges for men and women, this most likely means that you are not in shape health wise. It should be noted that the values ​​are above the normal range for total body fat in men and women. The normal percentage ranges for necessary (essential, healthy) body fat is 3-5% and 8-12% for men and women respectively. This fat is minimum essential a human being is a need for bodily functions. A reference table overview of total body fat according to the Health Check Systems is presented below:

Description - Women - Men
Recommended amount - 20-25% - 8-14%
Adults in the United States, on average - 22-25% - 15-19%
Obesity - + 30% - + 25%
Athletes 16-20% - 6-13%