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At a time when a large part of our population struggles with excess weight, it might be easy to assume that less body fat is always better. But too low a body fat percentage can also have a very negative effect on your body and your health. So what would be an ideal body fat percentage for us humans? That's exactly the question I'll get into more closely in this article.
I'll explain in more detail the potential health effects of too high or too low a body fat percentage, why fat accumulates on the body and how you can reduce it. This should give you a good picture of which body fat percentage is good for you.
Quick word about me first: my name is Marco Laterza and I'm a personal trainer from Zurich. In my work with clients, I help them make progress in exercise, nutrition and mindset. A holistic, integrated approach is very important to me. If you want to work with me, feel free to get in touch.
Why do we store body fat?
The principle behind body fat is actually quite simple. We humans and our bodies need energy. Even if we stay in bed all day and do nothing, our body still needs energy for its most essential functions. We take in this energy through food and drink.
However, if you consume more calories than your body actually needs, those excess calories get stored in fat cells. That's how excess body fat forms. From an evolutionary standpoint, it obviously makes sense that we store this fat. Back in the days when we were hunters, we often had to survive extreme situations and go without food for days. Our fat reserves were used so the body would still get enough energy and function normally.
How can you reduce excess body fat?
And here you can already see how we can basically reduce our excess body fat: by consuming fewer calories than we burn. This sentence actually contains two different ways to achieve that:
- Consume fewer calories: One option, of course, would be to eat or drink less while keeping your calorie burn the same. If you're below your basal metabolic rate, the remaining energy needed is drawn from your fat reserves.
- Burn more calories: You can also increase your own calorie burn and lose weight that way. To do that, simply move more, go for walks, run, or exercise.
Ideally, you should use both options at the same time, since that's the most efficient way to lose weight. Often, many people try to lose weight simply by eating and drinking less.
That may work, but exercise and movement also have many benefits for the body that shouldn't be neglected. Regular endurance exercise, for example, can support a healthy heart and reduce cardiovascular disease later in life.
The ideal body fat percentage?
So much for the basic principle. If we eat more than we burn, we store fat. If we eat less than we burn, our body fat decreases. But what range should your body fat percentage actually be in to count as "healthy"?
Well, there are two important factors to consider here, namely sex and age:
- For men, a healthy body fat percentage lies between 6% and 25%.
- For women, a healthy body fat percentage lies between 21% and 36%.
As you can see, there's a big difference between women and men. The reason for this is simple, though. Women have more fat on their bodies, partly because breast tissue mainly consists of fat, and partly because more fat is needed to protect the uterus.
Especially as we age, muscle mass declines while the number of fat cells increases at the same time. This raises your body fat percentage over time, while also making it harder to lose weight. That's because fat cells burn less energy than muscle cells, and because our metabolism slows down.
The dangers of too much / too little body fat
While the figures mentioned above should only be understood as a guideline, it's still important that we try to stay within this range. Because having too much or too little fat on our body can have many health effects.
Too high a body fat percentage
With too much body fat, the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, joint osteoarthritis or stroke increases. To reduce your body fat percentage here, you should focus on a healthy, balanced diet and integrate more movement into your everyday life.
Too low a body fat percentage
As mentioned at the start, it can be easy to assume that less body fat is always better. But the reality is that we need a certain body fat percentage for our bodies to function normally. Heart disease, gastrointestinal complaints, deficiencies in fat-soluble vitamins, a weakened immune system, all of this can also result from too low a body fat percentage.
In many cases, this results from anorexia or bulimia, eating disorders that lead people to eat too little and expose themselves to health risks.
My conclusion
Too little and too much body fat, both situations have a negative effect on our body and our health. So you should always try to find a good middle ground. How can you achieve this? In my view, through a holistic understanding of nutrition and exercise.
When it comes to nutrition, there are certainly many things to consider, such as a good ratio between protein, carbohydrates and fats, a healthy intake of micronutrients and vitamins, etc. Above all, you should focus on eating a balanced, healthy diet.
Knowing that too much bad fat and sugar isn't good for the body is, in my view, just as important as understanding that fat or carbohydrates aren't the "enemy" or what makes you fat. Only this way can you develop a healthy understanding of nutrition and more easily maintain a healthy body fat percentage.
The same applies to movement. Too little movement certainly isn't good, since it promotes a higher body fat percentage on one hand, and doesn't do your heart any favors on the other. At the same time, everyone should also be aware that with a lot of exercise you also burn a lot of calories, and should therefore eat more to maintain a healthy weight.
The middle ground is always a good path here, and that's also my conclusion when it comes to a healthy body fat percentage.