What Is Normal Body Fat for a Woman?
Women are inundated with information telling them they need to lose weight, but they may not be aware of what a normal, healthy body fat percentage actually is. Exercise, diet and genetics can all affect your body fat percentage, and there is no one specific body fat number that is healthy for everyone; instead, healthy body fat falls within a range of about 21 to 35 percent. This percentage is also referred to as body mass index (BMI). Women should generally have higher body fat percentages than men.
Role of Body Fat
Fat is the primary means through which the body stores energy, and without fat, you wouldn't be able to function. Fat also helps to cushion the organs and keep the body at a healthy temperature. Thus, fat is not a bad thing at all but instead needs to fall within a healthy range. Having too little fat can interfere with organ and heart function and may result in low energy and other health problems. People with too much fat may suffer from joint pain and cardiovascular problems. Consequently, it's not just the weight on the scale that matters; it's how much of that weight is due to body fat.
Body Fat Percentages
A healthy body fat percentage is heavily influenced by age. Older people require more body fat to remain healthy, and an ideal body mass index for seniors is between 24 and 35 percent. Women between ages 40 and 59 should have body fat percentages between 23 and 33 percent, while women between 18 and 40 should have body fat percentages between 21 and 32 percent. Athletes may have significantly lower body fat percentages, and estimates vary slightly on ideal body fat percentages. The Medical Center at NYU Langone, for example, says that healthy body fat for women is between 18.5 and 24.9 and that women are classified as obese if their BMI is above 30.
Calculating Body Fat
The simplest way to calculate body fat is to use your height and weight. Divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared, then multiply the number by 703. For example, if you are 5 feet tall and 100 pounds, multiply 60 -- your height in inches -- by 60 to get 3,600. Then divide 100 by 3,600 to get approximately .02778. Multiple this number by 703 to get 19.5. Round up to 20. Your body fat percentage is 20 percent. However, this number does not measure actual fat and just takes into account averages based on height and weight. A body fat caliper uses samples of fat throughout your body to estimate body fat. Your doctor might also have different formulas based upon a body fat caliper and your height and weight to calculate your body fat percentage.
Healthy Body Fat
Maintaining healthy body fat is a matter of diet and exercise; 3,500 calories weigh approximately 1 pound. To lose a pound, you'll need to burn 3,500 calories more than you eat through a combination of diet and exercise, and to gain a pound you'll need to add 3,500 calories to your diet. Regular exercise can help you remain healthy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advocates that adults engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise per week and two days per week of strength training.
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