The percentage of body fat in a woman's body standards. Daily fat intake

Created on 03/18/2016

Many women, chasing perfect figure, sit on half-starved diets and rejoice at every kilogram that has gone. Their obsession is to lose weight, reduce body volume.

Here we will not talk about how to lose weight correctly. Consider the question of how to find out the percentage of fat and muscle mass in body.

Do losing weight women think about what makes them lose weight? Often not. If you have lost a few kilograms and your body volume has decreased by several centimeters, this hated fat is not necessarily gone. Perhaps you lost weight due to the loss of water or muscle mass from the body. Therefore, it is useful to know how much fat is contained in the body, and how much muscle, and monitor changes in indicators. This will allow you to see what you need to work on: use intense training to lose fat or focus on strength training and nutrition for gaining muscle mass.

Our body is made up of different tissues. Scientific words - body composition.

There are various models that describe body composition:

two-component model- sum of fat mass and lean body mass

Body fat mass- the mass of all lipids in the body. Its content can vary widely.

Distinguish between essential fat, which is part of the protein-lipid complex of most body cells, and non-essential fat (triglycerides) in adipose tissues.

essential fat necessary for the normal metabolism of organs and tissues. In women, the relative content of essential fat is higher than in men. It is believed that the relative content of essential fat in the body is very stable and ranges from 2 to 5% of lean body mass for different people.

Non-essential fat performs the function of thermal insulation of internal organs. The content of non-essential fat increases with excess nutrition and decreases with insufficient nutrition.

The amount of adipose tissue in the body in different people can vary significantly and individually change throughout life. This may be due to both normal physiological changes in the process of growth and development of the body, and metabolic disorders. The average percentage of adipose tissue in the body of adults usually ranges from 10% to 20-30% of body weight.

Non-essential fat consists of subcutaneous and internal fat. Subcutaneous fat is distributed relatively evenly along the surface of the body. Internal (visceral) fat is concentrated mainly in abdominal cavity. It has been established that the risk of developing cardiovascular and other diseases associated with overweight has a higher relationship with the content of internal rather than subcutaneous fat. There is the concept of abdominal fat, which refers to the totality of internal and subcutaneous fat, localized in the abdomen.

Lean body mass- body weight excluding fat. The components of lean body mass are total body water, muscle mass, skeletal mass, and other components.

three-component models:

The amount of body fat common water body and lean body mass without fat

Sum of body fat mass, body mineral mass and soft tissue lean fraction

four-component models:

Sum of body fat mass, total body water, mineral body mass and residual mass

Sum of body fat mass, body cellular mass, extracellular fluid mass, and extracellular solids mass

five-level multicomponent model- the structure of the body is considered at the elemental, molecular, cellular, tissue levels and at the level of the organism as a whole

Determination of body composition has importance in sports, nutrition, anesthesiology, resuscitation and intensive care. It is used in the treatment of anorexia, obesity, osteoporosis and some other diseases.

Coaches and sports doctors use body composition determination to optimize training regimen during competition preparation. Studies of the strongest athletes made it possible to establish the optimal values of fat and muscle mass of the body. But uniform standards still do not exist and they vary depending on the sport, specific specialization and level of training of athletes.

Various methods are used to determine the composition of the human body. And there are formulas great amount. We will not delve into and describe them all in detail, because research is carried out in laboratories and clinics by specialists and knowledge of all these subtleties is simply not necessary. Consider the simplest and most popular methods that allow you to calculate the percentage of adipose tissue and muscle mass of the body.

Caliperometry

It consists in measuring the thickness of skin-fat folds in certain areas of the body using special measuring devices - calipers.

Today, a large number of different models of calipers are produced, which differ from each other. design features, measurement accuracy, application conditions, price and other indicators. The accuracy of determining the thickness of the folds with plastic calipers is usually lower than with metal ones.

All measurements are taken on the right side of the body. Holding the caliper in right hand, grab the skin-fat fold with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, the distance between which, depending on the thickness of the fold, should be from 4 to 8 centimeters, and gently, without causing pain, raise the fold to a height of about 1 centimeter.

The caliper is placed perpendicular to the crease, with the measurement scale at the top. The working surfaces of the caliper are placed at a distance of 1 cm from the thumb and forefinger in the middle between the base and crest of the fold.

Carefully and completely release the pressure of the caliper arcs on the fold, then within 3-4 seconds, according to the scale readings, determine its thickness, maintaining the fold in an elevated position.

The fold must be taken quickly, because with prolonged compression due to an imbalance in the fluid in the surface areas of the body, it becomes thinner.

The skin in the measurement areas must be dry. It is not recommended to conduct an examination immediately after intense physical activity or overheating.

There are more than 100 formulas based on caliperometry for determining body composition. These formulas correspond to various schemes for selecting measurement sites.

The most popular schemes are:

For two folds: on the back of the shoulder and in the middle of the lower leg behind
Three folds: on the back of the shoulder, upper iliac and on the middle of the thigh at the back
Four folds: on the back of the shoulder, upper iliac, on the abdomen near the navel, in the middle of the thigh; or on the anterior and posterior surface of the shoulder, under the scapula, upper iliac
Seven folds: on the back of the shoulder, on the chest, axillary, under the shoulder blade, upper iliac, on the abdomen near the navel, in the middle of the thigh behind
Eight folds: under the shoulder blade, on the front of the shoulder, on the back of the shoulder, on the forearm, on the chest, on the abdomen near the navel, on the upper part of the thigh, on the upper part of the lower leg

How to take pleats

On the back of the shoulder- a vertical fold taken over the triceps muscle with the arm lowered and relaxed. It is taken on the midline of the posterior surface of the shoulder in the middle between the acromial and olecranon processes

On the front of the shoulder- a vertical fold taken over the biceps muscle in the middle between the acromial and olecranon processes, the arm is relaxed and located along the body

On the middle of the leg behind- vertical crease taken on the midline of the medial surface of the calf at the level of the maximum circumference.

Upper iliac fold- diagonal fold, taken directly above the iliac crest, along its natural line.

Mid thigh at the back- vertical fold, taken from behind above the quadriceps muscle in the middle of the thigh of the right leg (measured in a standing position; the center of gravity is shifted to left leg right leg relaxed).

On the stomach near the navel- a vertical fold, which is taken at the level of the navel on the right at a distance of 2 centimeters from it.

Under the shoulder blade- diagonal fold (from top to bottom, from inside to outside), located at an angle of 45 degrees at a distance of 2 centimeters down from the lower angle of the scapula

On the chest- diagonal fold (from top to bottom, outside inward), taken in the middle between the anterior axillary line and the nipple (for women, 1/3 of the distance)

axillary- vertical fold taken on the midaxillary line at the level of the xiphoid process of the sternum

Forearm- a vertical crease on the anterior surface of the forearm at its widest point

On the top of the thigh- taken in a sitting position on a chair, legs bent at the knees at a right angle. The fold is measured in the upper part of the right thigh on the anterolateral surface parallel to the course of the inguinal fold, slightly below it.

On the top of the leg- The crease is measured in the same position as on the upper thigh. It is taken almost vertically on the posterolateral surface of the upper part of the right leg, at the level of the lower angle of the popliteal fossa

How to Calculate Fat Percentage

Of the many formulas, the most popular is the Matejka formula, which is used for age groups over 16 years old. The formula for determining the mass of adipose tissue in the body (BAT) is

where d is the average thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer together with the skin (mm), S is the surface area of the body (m 2), k = 1.3.

For women, the value of d is calculated as follows:

Add up the thickness of the seven skin-fat folds in millimeters (on the biceps, triceps, forearm, back, abdomen, thigh and lower leg). Divide the resulting amount by 14.

The surface area of the body is determined by the Dubois formula:

For women (20-60 years old) with a high relative body fat content, the formula is:

The girth of the abdomen is measured at the level of the navel at the time of the pause between inhalation and exhalation.

Surely, many will find it difficult to understand the terms of body structure used above and where to measure the folds. And it will be difficult to make calculations. Then you can use the easier method.

Wrinkles can be measured at 4 points:

on triceps about the same distance from the shoulder and elbow joints

on the bicep, similarly as on triceps, with opposite side arms

on the shoulder blade the fold is pinched just below it at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical so that the fold is directed along the line connecting the cervical vertebrae and sides

at the waist near the navel where is the most fat

All results (in millimeters) are added together. The percentage of fat is calculated according to the following table:

It contains data for women. There are different indicators for different ages. This is due to the fact that with age inevitably increases the amount of fat inside the muscles and in the abdominal cavity around the internal organs. When measured correctly, this method is 97-98% accurate.

Below you can see what the figure of women with different percentages of fat looks like.

How to calculate the percentage of muscle mass

To calculate muscle mass, the most reliable and common way is the Matejka formula. First you need to make the following measurements.

It is necessary to measure the thickness of the fold with a caliper or caliper:

on the front of the shoulder (biceps)
on the back of the shoulder (triceps)
on the forearm
on the thigh in front
on the lower leg

With a measuring tape, you need to measure the girth:

shoulder
forearms
hips
shins

Formula for determining skeletal muscle mass (SMM)

where DT - height (m), k=6.5, r - the average value of the circumference of the shoulder, forearm, thigh and lower leg without subcutaneous fat and skin, determined by the formula

The girth of the shoulder is measured in a calm state in the place of greatest development; forearm girth - in the place of the greatest development of muscles on a freely hanging arm, the muscles are relaxed; girth of the lower leg - in the place of the greatest development of the calf muscle; thigh girth is measured under the gluteal crease, body weight is evenly distributed on both legs, located shoulder-width apart. Pleats are defined in the same position and places as girths.

To calculate muscle mass as a percentage, divide muscle mass by weight in kilograms and multiply by 100.

Bioimpedance analysis

Based on significant differences in the electrical conductivity of adipose tissue and lean body mass. The main conductors of electric current in the body are tissues with a high water content and electrolytes dissolved in it. Fat and bones have lower electrical conductivity.

Measurements are made using instruments with a built-in software. They differ in the AC frequency (or set of frequencies) used, the parameters measured, recommended electrode patterns, and built-in body composition formulas.

Inexpensive single-frequency devices are used to control body fat and musculoskeletal mass. More expensive dual-frequency and multi-frequency bioimpedance analyzers are used mainly in clinical medicine and scientific research.

A more accurate assessment of body composition can be obtained using devices that work according to the scheme of applying electrodes to the lower leg and wrist.

They produce manual bioimpedance fat analyzers that take information from the shoulder girdle. There are floor scales that can be used at home. It is on such scales that we will focus our attention.

When you step on the scales, weak electricity travels up one leg, through the pelvis, and then down the other leg. Since muscles contain more water, they conduct electricity better than fat. Thus, the more resistance, the more fat in your body. To calculate the percentage of fat mass and muscle, formulas are used based on the speed of the electrical signal and other data that you enter: height, age, gender. Height must be entered with an accuracy of 1 centimeter. The results obtained are checked against the tables that are in the instructions for the scales. These tables indicate the age and norms of the content of muscle tissue, fat and water in the body.

Of course, such scales are convenient to use, but they do not give accurate results. Research has shown that the most best scales give an accuracy of only 80%. With their help, you can only approximately assess whether your body composition meets established standards. Factors such as body type, elevated body temperature, hydration, recent physical exercise and the last meal. Even wet or sweaty feet, as well as large calluses on the feet, can skew the results. Determined that different scales give different indications. Such devices may be less accurate for the elderly, physically fit people, children, and people with osteoporosis. Also, some other diseases affect the accuracy - including muscular dystrophy, polio, cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure. In addition, these scales can overestimate the percentage of body fat in thin people and underestimate it in overweight people. This scale is not recommended for use by pregnant women or if there are electrical implants such as a pacemaker or defibrillator.

The scales must be placed on a flat floor, and when weighing, stand straight and do not move (you can see the result after weighing in the memory of the scales). Weigh yourself at the same time of day better in the morning on an empty stomach some time after waking up and going to the toilet), do not do this immediately after training and weigh yourself in a room with a stable temperature.

There are no general standards for the ideal body fat and lean percentage. It depends on age, gender, physical training and ethnicity.

According to some experts, the "healthy" body fat range is 23 to 33 percent for middle-aged women and up to 35 percent for older women. Athletes tend to have much less body fat. The lower mark of the fat content in female body- 10%. In an effort to burn fat as much as possible, remember that too little adipose tissue in the body can lead to health problems.

For women, the average muscle mass is 36%.

And water in the body. The question is relevant because by determining the proportions of fat, water and muscle mass, you can find out exactly how much fat you lost during weight loss. Maybe it's just water?

If in the process of losing weight you lose fat, and not muscle mass or water, then you are definitely on the right way. But how in the body and what is the average? There is a special table where all the numbers are given. Let's take a quick look at her data.

The average indicator is calculated depending on the age, gender of the subject. So because of the hormone estrogen, the female audience has 5% more body fat than the male audience. Therefore, the usual normal figure is 23% for a woman and 17% for a man.

Depending on age, the percentage of normal body fat increases, and muscle tissue mass decreases.

For example, the average 20-year-old student should have about 15% fat content of their total body weight. And older men with a clearly sedentary lifestyle have rates of 25% or more. The ideal indicator is considered the limit of obesity. Anything above is full-fledged clinical obesity with all the ensuing consequences.

Why you need body fat

As paradoxical as it sounds, fat human body is still necessary. Weight loss fanatics can convince you otherwise until you're blue in the face, but still pay attention to this point so as not to cross the boundaries of acceptable weight loss.

Fat is necessary for the normal functioning of the body. Therefore, its content cannot be equal to zero.

Fat needed:

For thermal insulation;
To protect the internal organs and / or the fetus during pregnancy;
as energy reserves. This is the so-called NZ of our body for a "rainy day".

For women, the indicator of the required fat is at least 8-10%, but for men this figure is 3-5%. A low percentage of fat is extremely dangerous for health, which is especially true for female body. So indicators below 10-13% inhibit the production of estrogen, disrupt reproductive function and the menstrual cycle. There is also a risk of developing osteoporosis much earlier than old age due to a decrease in bone density.

By the way, often due to lack of body weight, women cannot become pregnant. That's why doctors recommend certain fat-building foods for the "painfully thin."

How to find out the percentage of body fat

There are various methods that reflect the fat content in the body. Most accurate:

Body composition and its analysis;
Waist-to-hip ratio;
Skin fold measurement.

So you can find out what proportion of your body is fat, and what is the rest of the tissues. Similar studies are easy to do in sports centers and clubs. There you can also be offered special products that will help you lose weight or. I mean high-quality official drugs like thermogenics, and so on.

In pharmacies and not very good sports clubs, they often sell products that remove fat from the body. Drugs simply do not allow lipids to be absorbed during digestion, are harmful to the body, and besides, they can embarrass you in public.

Skin Fold Measurement

One of the most accurate and popular methods for determining the proportion of fat is to measure the thickness of the fold in certain places.

The scale on this tool will show the thickness of the fat layer. Such pinching is done in certain places - the upper back, abdomen, hips, chest. Next, the indicator is inserted into a special formula and the percentage is calculated.

You won’t believe it, but initially the tool was invented in order to determine the thickness of fat in pigs. Later adapted to the needs of man.

Dimension has a high degree accuracy, but tomography is considered the most accurate. Thanks to the unit, it is possible to accurately divide adipose and non-adipose tissue in the body. But due to the high cost of the procedure, it is practically not used in practice.

Pinching

To make pinching, it is necessary to pinch a fold of skin in several places with the index and thumb. The help of an outsider is needed, since you need to pinch on the hips, abdomen, slightly above the armpit. Next, trying not to spread your fingers, measure the distance between them with a ruler. If the distance is more than 2.5 cm, then excess weight you have.

Body mass index

To calculate, you need to divide the weight by the height squared. The normal value is from 18.5 to 24.9. But the indicator is very inaccurate, since the same athletes have more muscle mass, and the indicators will reflect obesity with the same numbers.

Clothing size

With clothes, too, everything is not clear. Clothing tends to both stretch and shrink. You could simply overeat salty and water simply accumulated in the body, that is, there was a banal edema, which will subside a little later. It is enough to sit in the sauna, cut back on salty foods in order to fit into your favorite jeans.

The principle of losing weight due to the evaporation of water is used in all kinds of slimming shorts, creams that remove water from the body.

If you overdo it, you can lose too much a large number water. The result is dehydration and poor health.

figure type

It is useful for all kinds of measurements to also focus on the type of figure.

The physique is of three types:

– thin. It is distinguished by narrow bones, elongated arms and legs. This type of people does not have a lot of fat and muscle in the body. They have an intensive metabolism, because ectomorphs simply have no idea what "" is. Even the most harmful foods like mayonnaise and buns will not make them obese.

– have a wide bone, muscles predominate over adipose tissue. Their body responds to physical activity as quickly as possible. It is mesomorphs who quickly earn a beautiful relief.

– the bone has average parameters, but the metabolism is slowed down. Adipose tissue predominates over muscle. It is endomorphs who have problems with being overweight. Even foods such as lean steamed fish can cause obesity.

Having determined the type of your physique, you can safely determine where exactly to start and the transformation of body shapes.

Determining the percentage of body fat is the only accurate way to evaluate the effectiveness of or. At the same time, the “usual” figure on the scales and the weight in kilograms can distort the real situation, since, for example, during the period of weight loss, the body tends to replace part of the lost fat with water.

Calculating the percentage of body fat is simple - for this you need to divide the fat mass in the body by the total weight. For example, if you have 10 kg of fat with a total weight of 70 kg, then the percentage of fat will be 10/70 = 14.3%. but key difficulty is that you need to know exactly how much fat you have.

Ideal Fat Level

For men, 6-13% fat means a toned athletic physique and a fairly sculpted press, 14-17% means good physical shape with a small amount of fat reserves in problem areas, 18-25% means average level forms, above 25% - obesity.

For girls, the figures for the level of fat in the body are slightly higher - an athletic physique is characterized by 14-20%, a good physical form- 21-24%, average fat level - 25-31%. It should also be noted that the level of fat below 10% is quite dangerous for the female body and leads to the cessation of the menstrual cycle.

Electronic body analysis systems

The action of electronic systems for analyzing body composition and determining the percentage of body fat is based on passing extremely weak and safe electric currents through tissues and then analyzing the speed of passage and the percentage of signal loss. Adipose tissue delays the signal, while water and muscles conduct it almost entirely.

In fact, this method does not determine the percentage of fat in your body, but only compares the indicators with the average numbers stored in the device’s memory and shows an approximate result. The final error depends both on the number of measuring electrodes, and on body temperature, the presence of food in the stomach, and other factors.

Floor scales for body composition analysis

Floor scales with body composition analysis function are one of the least accurate methods for measuring body fat. By sending a weak current through one leg, the balance "waits" for it on the other and determines the percentage of losses. Unfortunately, the resulting loss of signal can be caused by many reasons, and not at all by the actual composition of the body.

It is also interesting that many similar scales (both expensive and cheap) record the results of the last weighing in memory - after re-measuring after a few minutes, they only give out the old figure. Since the value of the percentage of fat does not change, the person mistakenly believes that the scale has determined it accurately. This is the intention of the manufacturer.

The most accurate electronic scales

Unfortunately, most electronic scales for determining the level of body fat show an extremely inaccurate figure - in some cases, the result may differ from the real one at times. The only reliable way to use electronic scales will be to follow the trend - let the number lie, but it is important to increase or decrease over time.

The presence of additional handles significantly reduces the error and allows you to determine the fat content in the body more accurately - however, such scales are much more expensive than usual ones. The price of professional scales of the Tanita brand can reach up to 200 thousand rubles, and home models from this brand cannot cost less than 15-20 thousand rubles.

Measuring fat with a caliper

The simplest and most accessible method for determining body fat is to measure the subcutaneous fat fold with a caliper-like device (“caliper”) and compare the result with a calculation table. This table contains a comparison of the thickness of the fat fold in millimeters and the approximate percentage of body fat.

Although caliper measurements are more accurate than measurements with simple electronic scales with a body analysis function, this method does not take into account the presence at all. But, again, for assessing the progress of a fat burning diet or when training for cutting, a home measurement of fat levels with a caliper is the easiest.

How to measure body fat with a caliper?

The measurement technique for determining the level of fat using a caliper is simple - you need to stand up straight, determine a point 10 cm to the right of the navel at a height of 3-4 cm from the edge of the protruding femur, then pinch the skin and fat in this place, and then measure the thickness of this clamping with a caliper (or, in its absence, with a caliper).

The measurement result in millimeters and your age is compared with the table below - at the intersection is a figure showing the predicted fat content in your body. The table also shows whether this indicator is in the high, medium or low zone. As FitSeven wrote above, these data are different for men and women.

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To calculate the percentage of body fat, you first need to determine the physical mass of fat reserves in the body. The only direct method for determining this figure is weighing in a special bath (this method is used in sports), and all other methods are indirect and may contain a significant measurement error.

Anyone who is even slightly interested in a healthy way life and weight loss knows that a big role for appearance plays exactly percentage of body fat. The fashion for a magnificent figure has long passed and by modern standards, beauty lies in a slender, toned, sports body. Accordingly, the lower its percentage in the body, the more aesthetically pleasing a person looks.

But here, too, there are norms, neglecting which you risk getting obesity or anorexia instead of beauty. Also, the content of fats in the body within the normal range is extremely important for health. Deviations in one direction or another can lead to disastrous consequences, sometimes even irreparable. The fat layer is recruited not only on muscle tissues, but also on internal organs which is especially dangerous. You've probably heard the term "visceral fat". So what is the optimal body fat content? How to properly reduce its percentage and not harm health? Where is the line between beautiful slenderness and excessive thinness, and where is the "take" the desired relief? To understand how to determine the percentage of body fat, read the information below to find out the answers to the questions.

If you have overweight body and the naked eye can see that the percentage of fat is above the norm, then you do not need accurate measurements. They are necessary for athletes who carefully control their nutrition and exercise. It is difficult for them to determine something “by eye”.

There are many methods for determining its percentage in the body, but, unfortunately, not all of them are accurate:

caliper - a specialized device with a scale - has a high error;
x-ray - minimal deviations;
special scales and other gadgets - an error of about 6% (strongly depends on the current state of the body);
bioelectrical resistance - there is also an error;
"by eye" - the error is large, but the method is the simplest and most common.

Let's take a closer look at each. The caliper measures the thickness of the skin on the fat fold. Measurements are taken at multiple locations, and then the results are summed up and applied to multiple equations. Cons of this method: the equations are not accurate initially, clamping less skin you will get an underestimated result, and holding more, respectively, overestimated. So it will not work to calculate the correct coefficient. X-ray has a smaller error than the previous method, but still not accurate, this has already been proven by a number of studies. Moreover, a lot depends on the device itself, body condition, gender, weight and many other factors. The error ranges from 4 to 10%. The most accurate method for determining body fat percentage is the four-section analysis.

Here the body is conditionally divided into four components:

bones;
water;
muscles;
adipose tissues.

All this is individually “weighed”, and the results go through a special formula. This method will help to reliably calculate the percentage of body fat for women and men. Judging "by eye", in a relief body there is about 10% fat, when in a slender, without relief it is already up to 20%. Well, if there is obesity of any stage - there is no less than 50%.

Practical advice: When determining the percentage in this way, you need to remember the role of muscle mass. The same indicator will be for the "rolling" and thin. The difference is only in the relief.

body fat calculator

Result: There is approximately fat (or) in your body.

What is the minimum body fat percentage

It is completely impossible to get rid of the fat layer, since it is also necessary for normal operation organism.

Please note: For men, the minimum content is 5%, for women - 13%. If the percentage is below normal, failure of the internal organs will follow.

There is such a case in history. A bodybuilder who overdid it with getting rid of fat has died. A small part of the fat is and should be in all human organs and systems.

In addition to it, there are 2 more types:

subcutaneous;
visceral.

The latter accumulates on the internal organs and it is more difficult to get rid of it. A small amount of fat is provided for the normal functioning of the body, but its excess leads to many serious diseases.

Expert opinion

Smirnov Viktor Petrovich
Nutritionist, Samara

It is known that without fat life is impossible. And that's why you shouldn't spend all your time fighting excess fat. Even in aesthetic terms, a harmoniously developed figure is not one in which knotty muscles intertwined with a protruding venous network, but with pronounced, but smooth lines. In the process of losing weight, both men and women need to take into account the characteristics of the body and, first of all, pay attention to them. So, it is necessary to understand what type of physique a person belongs to: normosthenic, asthenic or hypersthenic. At different types weight loss starts differently. In addition, you should not pay attention to where the fat leaves. It almost always happens that a person wants to first lose weight on the stomach, and the neck or buttocks begin to lose weight. The body itself knows where it will utilize the excess energy supply from, and therefore you should not get upset and interfere with the natural process.

Normal (healthy) body fat percentage

Completeness cannot be healthy by definition. At World Organization health care has a table that indicates a healthy percentage of body fat.

Men
Age	Short %	Healthy %	Tall %	Obesity
20-40 years old	Below 8	9-19%	20-25	Above 25
41-60 years old	Below 11	12-22%	23-27	Above 27
61-79 years old	Below 13	14-25%	26-30	Above 30
Women
Age	Short %	Healthy %	Tall %	Obesity
20-40 years old	Below 21	21-33%	33-39	Above 39
41-60 years old	Below 23	23-35%	35-40	Above 40
61-79 years old	Below 24	24-36%	36-42	Above 42

As mentioned earlier, a low content of subcutaneous (and not only) fiber leads to death, and a high content leads to many diseases. There is a norm of body fat content and it should be adhered to.

Visceral fat

Long time accumulation visceral fat in adults, they attributed it to genetics - a predisposition and so on. But scientists nevertheless proved that a fat aunt is not to blame for your fullness. The content of visceral fat increases along with subcutaneous fat, and genetics has nothing to do with it.

It becomes harmful when contained:

in men from 20%;
in women from 40%.

Decreased percentage of body fat

Losing weight is a difficult task, but doable. In the first pair, kilograms go faster than the last. At first glance, everything is simple - you need to eat less (kcal) than you spend. So the body begins to take energy from fat reserves, burning them. But the slimmer you become, the harder it is to get rid of a couple of extra pounds.

Please note: The greater the initial body weight (fat), the faster it goes away from the first weeks of training. Further more difficult. As fat mass decreases, more and more efforts are required to achieve the next result.

For example, the initial weight is 100 kg. For the first month of training and proper nutrition you can lose 5-10 kg. For the second month, 3-7 kg are spent with the same loads, and so on. Therefore, you need to increase the load as the weight decreases. With the choice of the correct initial and further exercises, an experienced trainer can help, and it is better to contact a nutritionist for the selection of a diet. The percentage of body fat in both weight loss and professional sports is more important than the calculation of BMI (body mass index). The latter shows only the ratio of height and weight, there are even calculators for calculating it. But for a full assessment physical development This is not enough.

What to do to get the desired relief

When losing weight, it is important not only to get rid of fat, but also to achieve firmness and relief of muscles, albeit not very pronounced. Below are recommendations on what to do and what not to do every day to move from one "fat category" to another.

% fat in men	% body fat in women	What to do	Restrictions
From 20	From 30	To dial: there are semi-finished products; large portions; eat food quickly	Lead a sedentary lifestyle; eat few fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods; do not follow the balance of the diet; sleep as little as possible.
15-20	25-30	+2 meals with big amount protein per day; + 2 small portions of vegetables; training or active classes 3-5 times a week	Reduce the amount of (slightly) processed carbohydrates; consume a little less high-calorie drinks.
13-15	23-25	Add protein to 2-3 meals per day; +3 servings of vegetables per day; activity for 45 minutes a day; 1-2 workouts per week; sleep from 7 hours a day; fight stress.	Desserts up to 3-5 times a week; drinks with a lot of calories 3-5 times a week.
10 - 12	20-22	Complete control of your diet; protein and vegetables daily for 1 serving; + a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids; + some processed carbohydrates; 50 minutes of activity every day; 4 workouts per week; sleep for at least 8 hours; fight stress.	Desserts no more than 1-2 times a week; 1-2 high-calorie drinks per week, no more.
6 - 9	16 - 19	Full power control; + protein, vegetables, healthy fats; calorie/carbohydrate cycling; activity 75 minutes every day; 4-5 workouts per week; sleep 8-9 hours; fight stress.	Carbohydrates only on special days; desserts up to 2 times a week; up to 1 high-calorie drink per week; restaurants up to 2 times a week.

A normal percentage of fat requires constant maintenance: proper nutrition, physical activity. Above normal values can lead to a variety of diseases, including diabetes, problems with the heart muscle and the whole vascular system, joint diseases and so on. List possible complications too long.

Important! An underestimated percentage of fat is also considered a disease - anorexia. And it can end in death.

With the current low body fat content, it takes a lot of effort to maintain it. The greater the initial weight, the easier the fat deposits go. The less fat becomes, the more difficult it begins to leave. It is important to monitor nutrition and activity - a sedentary lifestyle and eating fast food only contributes to the accumulation of unnecessary and dangerous body fat.

As you know, fats are of vegetable and animal origin. All fats are high energy value, which means calories. When splitting, one gram of fat releases as much as 9.3 kcal (it is customary to round up to 9 grams). These calories can be stored in the body as fat stores in the liver, subcutaneous fat, kidneys, and other "fat stores". The accumulation of fat in the body depends not so much on the nutrient itself, but on the excess of calories. When you eat more calories than you need, the fats in the food are stored by the body.

Saturated and unsaturated fats - what's the difference?

The composition of fats contains saturated fatty acids, which are found in the fats of animals, birds, as well as unsaturated ones, which prevail in most vegetable oils. Polyunsaturated fatty acids determine the adaptation of the human body to adverse factors environment, they also regulate the body's metabolism, in particular cholesterol.

An excess of fats, which are rich in saturated fatty acids, provokes indigestion, leads to a deterioration in the absorption of proteins, as well as diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases.

Saturated fats are essential for our body. It is with their participation that they are synthesized - testosterone in men, estrogen and progesterone in women. However, their number must be controlled.

In the body, fats perform many important functions: energy, building, protective, transport, thermal insulation, they contribute to the dissolution of a number of vitamins.

I would also like to draw attention to the following circumstance. Muscle tissue is "" because it is involved in the life processes of the body. And adipose tissue - "metabolically inactive", is a store of energy that is in demand as needed. It follows from this that the presence of muscle mass helps to burn a significant amount of calories for the whole day. At the same time, respectively, they take up less space.

Fat requirements are calculated based on the actual weight of each person and range from 0.7 to 2 g per kilogram of body weight. Use to navigate in further calculations.

People whose weight is within the normal range need to consume 1-1.1 g of fat for every kilogram of their weight. Thus, the fat requirements in grams will be approximately equal to your weight in kilograms (for example, at a weight of 56 kg, 56 g of fat will be required).

Overweight and obese people need to consume 0.7-0.8 g of fat for every kilogram of their weight.

In a healthy diet, fat should make up 20-30% of your average daily calorie intake. Do not lower fats below normal, as this can be fraught. Many people think that by reducing fat to 0.5 g per kilogram of weight, they will lose weight faster, but this is not so. We get fat not from fat, but from excess calories. Therefore, for comfortable weight loss, it is important to maintain a calorie deficit and a balance of BJU.

Increasing fat to 2 g may be due to some medical indications or dietary protocols, for example,.

Regardless of what numbers you get, the fat content in your diet should be as follows:

Polyunsaturated ( fish fat) - 1.8-3 g ( we are talking not about the capsule, but about the content of the substance itself in it);
Saturated fats - no more than 1/3 of total fats;
All the rest - unsaturated fats predominantly from plant sources.

Below we give a small list of foods that are high in fat, remember them. The figure indicates the fat content in grams per 100 grams of the product:

and (and most liquid oils) - 100
processed cheese - 46

You can't cut out fat completely. Remember that their insufficient intake in the body can be harmful, lead to disruption of the digestive tract, nervous system, potency, to weaken the immune system, promote the development of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Well, an excess of fat leads, first of all, to obesity, to accumulation in the blood, to memory impairment.

Now you know your rate of fat intake, you know which foods to eat are bad for your figure. It remains to choose healthy foods and observe the rule of moderation.