Is my body fat too much?
I just got my body fat checked today and it was 30.3. I am 5'9 female weighing 172 lbs. Is that good or bad? I know i'm bit chunky n should lose some weight but this bodyfat confusing me.
Public Comments
- Check your BMI at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ iuno im high lol i think women have more body fat then men by average but i think average for women is about 12 - 22% or something mines like 14.5
- Ideally, you should be between 18 and 20% to be considered "fit", but that takes a while. Just take it one step at a time...you'll make it. Athletic woman can go as low as 11%, whereas men can drop to 4% (although its not recommended). at 5' 9", you should strive for a goal of a 32-34" waistline. Work towards only this, and everything else will fall into place. Glad you had this checked. Most people use total weight as an indicator of health, and unless your huge, it really doesnt mean a whole lot since muscle weighs more then fat. Huggs!
- It's a little high. You are considered "over fat", which just basically means you're above average for body fat. As to whether it is good or bad is completely subjective. Are you happy with yourself? Then don't obsess about it or worry about it if you weren't before. As long as you're happy and healthy, then it's a good thing. By the way, muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. BUT...muscle is more dense, which means that a 150-pound woman with a higher percentage of lean mass will LOOK thinner than a 150-pound woman who has more fat mass. I hope this makes sense.
- you don't say how old you are but it is in the healthy range for a woman of any age. the healthy range goes up the older a person gets. you are NOT in the overfat range. around 20% and lower is athletic bodyfat level for a woman. around 12% and lower is unhealthy bodyfat level for a woman.
- http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ your bmi is 25.4 Overweight = 25-29.9 i guess you can try to loose at least ten pounds...walk in the morning-its cooller and you feel fresh throughout the day...i hate how all these people posted up diet pills...those don't work and can be dangerous... don't cheat yourself.. my neighbor told us how she lost her weight- she cut on carbs and sugar-bread.. believe me--she lost a lot! Buy a lot of fruits to increase your metabolism..like bananas... If you have little kids maybe like walk to school once in a while..or go biking with your kids...Good Luck! you height helps a lot too..
- It's not dangerously high, but 30%, for a woman, is the marker for being considered to have too high a body fat %. 25 to 29% is considered acceptable, but 20 to 25% is considered ideal for a woman's fitness level. So only about 5%, which for you is probably about 10 pounds, not a huge amount.
