What is a healthy body fat percentage?
I have a scale at my house that can measure body fat with electromagnetic pulses (it says) and I have been consistantly around 16% - my only problem with that is I have 6 pack, I workout everyday twice a day, and I run more than anyone I know. How can my body fat percentage be so high? - is it high?
Public Comments
- 17-26% is average for males until they reach 30, I wouldn't stress out to much if you have a 6-pack because it is impossible to achieve this without having a pretty low percentage. 16% could be correct but I would suspect if your abdominals are really defined to the point of a six pack, you are probably sitting down around 11% or so. (Just an educated guess so don't take it to heart or anything) My suggestion would be to go to a gym that measures body fact percentage or ask your doctor to do it. Most scales or devices you buy for your home (unless you shell out boku bucks) are crap. So you are probably not getting a very accurate reading.
- For males, there is a minimum level of fat needed to just exist (2-4%), then there is the level athletes have 6-13%. You are in the level just above/below athlete called Fitness, which is 14-17%. 18-25% is Acceptable and over 25% would be obese. You have very good percentage! In fact, your % is perfect for sports such as track and field, lacrosse and football.
- 16% is good, but for you to have a full six pack at 16% is unusual unless you carry all your weight in areas other than your stomach. So perhaps try using body fat callipers (accu-measure) or go to a faciality which offers hydrostatic weighing or DEXA scanning.
- Those body-fat measuring scales are very inaccurate. Like others already mentioned, if you can see six pack abs on a relaxed stomach, chances are you're at around 10-11% or lower. If you're higher than 11-12% it's unlikely that the bottom two packs would be visible.
