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Body Fat Composition Ranges
Extracted from Principals & Labs for Fitness and Wellness, 1st Edition ©1999.
To determine the percentage of body fat that is appropriate for your body, consult your physician.
Why Measure Body Fat?
The key to long-term weight management and better health is building
lean muscle and losing body fat. Being healthy doesn’t mean getting
"skinny." A thin person can have an excess of body fat. A muscular
person can technically be overweight, but healthy. Getting and staying
lean means controlling your body fat percentage.
Measuring estimated body fat and weight together gives you a more
accurate picture of your total fitness. As part of a fitness plan, it helps you
set more realistic goals, and better reflects a positive healthy change in
your overall body composition.
Body fat isn’t always visible, and traditional scales can’t measure it.
Is All Body Fat Bad?
Everyone has some body fat. In fact, “Essential” body fat helps keep
you healthy. It cushions and insulates your joints, tissues and vital
organs. It helps regulate body temperature and stores important
vitamins. It even helps the body sustain itself when food is scarce. If
you had too little body fat, your body would start breaking down
muscle tissue for energy.
Too much body fat, however, can lead to serious health problems,
including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke,
osteoarthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and other respiratory
disorders, and certain types of cancer.
How Much Body Fat is Right for Me?
To determine the body fat range that’s right for you, we recommend
you consult your doctor.
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