Male hormones problems: high body fat level in a woman's body can lead to an excessive production of male hormones, causing facial hair growth and acne.In extreme cases, they can lead to strokes, the third most common cause of death in the United States. Heart diseases: obesity and high levels of body fat can lead to high blood pressure and high levels of bad cholesterol, which are also risk factors for heart diseases.An excessive percentage of body fat, however, can cause multiple health problems, such as: You need some body fat to regulate the production of hormones. It is taken from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the United States. The chart below shows the average body fat percentages of Americans from samples between 1999–2004. Higher levels of body fat may be dangerous for you. This data means that if your body fat percentage is lower than 31% for women and 24% for men, you are in the average range and you have nothing to worry about. The list below comes from the American Council on Exercise and shows the average percentages in specified groups. Once you calculated your body fat percentage, you should compare it with the recommended values. If you're looking for more detailed and accurate calculations, try our Navy Body Fat tool and Army Body Fat tool ! Is my body fat percentage normal? Remember, due to different body types of the population the estimation might not be 100% accurate! For example, an extremely muscular person will have high weight and BMI values, yet we can't say that such a person is obese. It was tested on 6,510 people and showed estimated error of 4.66%. This equation was validated by the American Diabetes Association.

Once you have gather all the data, you can input them all into the body fat calculator. Height: stand straight, and measure the distance from the floor to the top of your head.You will get the most accurate result weighing yourself in the morning, before breakfast, and without clothes on. To calculate the body fat percentage, you need to gather the following data: You should treat this result as a rough estimate it can only tell you if your body fat percentage is drastically too high, but there's no reason to panic if the result differ slightly from the recommended value. Remember that no calculator, however complicated, can replace a visit in a doctor's office. Please note, the Better Health Channel also has a Body mass index calculator for children and teenagers.You can estimate your body composition with our body fat percentage calculator. This means there are some exceptions to the BMI guidelines. 18.5 to 24.9 - you have a healthy weight range for young and middle-aged adults.īMI does not differentiate between body fat and muscle mass.Under 18.5 - you are very underweight and possibly malnourished.Once you have measured your BMI, you can determine your healthy weight range. Some researchers have suggested that a BMI range of 22-26 is acceptable for older Australians. For older Australians over the age of 74 years, your general health may be more important than being mildly overweight. This calculator is designed for men and women over the age of 18.Ī healthy BMI for an adult is between 20 and 25. It is only an approximate measure of the best weight for your health. Body Mass Index is used to estimate your total amount of fat.

Comprehensive body fat calculator