Did you know that there’s a healthy range of percent fat for males and females? You probably know that you can have too much body fat and be at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. But did you know that you can have too little body fat? It’s true! Your body needs fat for these reasons:
- Fat transports nutrients throughout the body.
- Fat provides nutrients and fuel to the body during rest and exercise.
- Fat provides protection to your organs and muscles.
- Fat helps maintain body temperature.
- Fat keeps your body insulated from the cold.
- Fat is an energy-rich fuel (that is, each gram of fat has 9 calories; each gram of carbohydrate and protein has 4 calories).
Because your body needs fat, we call the minimum amount of fat needed by your body essential fat. If your percent fat drops below the essential level, you’ll be at risk for diseases that afflict people with excessive thinness. Look over the table to see the body fatness standards for males and females.
| Classification |
Male |
Female |
| Essential fat |
No less than 5% |
No less than 10% |
| Borderline |
5 to 9% |
10 to 16% |
Recent research has also demonstrated that the placement of fat is important to health. For example, excessive fat around the belly, chest, and back is considered more dangerous than fat located in the arms and legs. You can determine where someone holds fat by determining if that person has an apple (dangerous fat) or pear shape (less dangerous fat). Ideally, you should try to maintain a healthy level of fat through regular physical activity and a diet high in fruits and vegetables.
