body fat percentage.. too high?
I am 17 years old and weight 146 1bs.. at the gym today they calculate by body fat percentage and it said 26%!!!! I know i could afford to loose some weight, but I didn't think I was that huge. why is it so high when I exercise almost everyday of the week?? HELP
Public Comments
- 25-31% is considered acceptable. Your body mass index is a good way to know if you're overweight, though. http://www.healthchecksystems.com/bodyfat.htm http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
- 26% isn't huge! It is absolutely healthy, and close to perfect. I would absolutely not drop to anything below 22% BF for a girl/young woman, or whatever percent is associated with a severe decrease in menses -- whichever comes first. (Aside: I never dropped below 22-24% BF but I was excercising (distance running) so much that I stopped my period for months. That's called "amennorhea," meaning the absence of menstruation, which can be harmful, so make sure you talk to your doctor if that happens.) Personally, I like %BF measurements better than BMI because your pure muscle and bone mass can screw up a BMI measurement. Just make sure that you are well hydrated (and equally well) each %BF measurement for consistency sake. Stay healthy. Don't obsess about your %BF. God made you the way S/He wanted you to be -- just beautiful YOU. Maintain a good lean muscle mass, and a *normal* %BF to optimize your long-term metabolism, weight control, cardiac health and bone density. And talk to health care professionals, not layperson strangers, about your health. You're worth it. Take care.
- It is hard to give you any specific answer as you did not include enough details such as your gender or your height. However, I can give you some general facts and figures about body fat percentages. Here is a chart from a good resource I found (I will include the link below): *Body Fat Percentage Categories* Classification.......Women (% fat)..Men (% fat) Essential Fat.......10-12%............ 2-4% Athletes...............14-20%........... 6-13% Fitness.................21-24%.......... 14-17% Acceptable........... 25-31%.......... 18-25% Obese...................32%+............. 25%+ _____ As you can see from the chart, you are in the acceptable body fat category if you are a female, but if you are male you are heading into the overweight body fat category. You also indicated that you exercise most days of the week and that is excellent, keep that up! However, I am not sure what you are doing as far as nutrition goes. It is important to eat a balanced, lower calorie, diet along with exercise to ensure that you lose any weight and body fat desired. Here are some tips to lose weight based on the information you gave me: It is important to first determine your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). I will include a link for you below to help you determine that. Your BMR tells you the amount of calories you need daily to MAINTAIN your current body weight. You should try to cut that number down by 500-1000 calories depending on what the original number is and activity level. Remember males should not go below 1500 calories a day and females should not go below 1200 calories a day. The most important thing is to make sure that you eat plenty of foods that are high in fiber and low in fat, sugar, sodium, and calories. These foods are also supposed to help sustain you and keep you from being hungry. These foods include: 1. Fat free or low-fat dairy products 2. Fruits and vegetable 3. Lean protein 4. Whole grains You may also want to take a daily multivitamin to ensure that you are taking in enough of the vitamins and minerals your body needs. If you follow these guidelines, you will lose weight and you can expect to become healthier. You will lose body fat and gain lean muscle mass. Your weight is just a number, but your health should be your overall goal. Good luck!!
- Are you a man or woman? For a woman that's about average, but for a guy it's technically obese! However, you can be a low weight and look skinny but still have a high body fat percentage due to lack of lean mass. What sort of exercise are you doing? You need to incorporate strength training into your workouts plus diet is very important. You need to be getting adequate amounts of protein to maintain and build muscle mass.
