What is a healthy body fat percentage?
For men, 10–20% is generally healthy and 6–13% is athletic. For women, 18–28% is healthy and 14–20% is athletic — women carry more essential fat for hormonal function.
Calculate your body fat percentage using the US Navy method. See your lean mass, fat mass, and body composition category.
Men: %BF = 495 ÷ (1.0324 − 0.19077 × log10(waist − neck) + 0.15456 × log10(height)) − 450. Women add hip: log10(waist + hip − neck). Lean mass = weight × (1 − %BF).
A man 70 in tall with a 34 in waist and 15 in neck comes out around 18% body fat. At 180 lb that is roughly 32 lb of fat and 148 lb of lean mass.
For men, 10–20% is generally healthy and 6–13% is athletic. For women, 18–28% is healthy and 14–20% is athletic — women carry more essential fat for hormonal function.
Yes for individuals. BMI cannot distinguish muscle from fat, so muscular people are misclassified as overweight. Body fat percentage measures the tissue that actually drives metabolic risk.
It is usually within about 3 percentage points of a DEXA scan when you measure at the same spots each time — the narrowest point of the waist for men, the navel for women, and a relaxed neck.