How much body fat are you carrying? Find out if you are in the healthy range. This body fat calculator is based on a formula developed by the US Navy.
First, your body fat percentage is simply the percentage of fat your body contains. If you weigh 140 pounds and are 10% fat, it means that your body consists of 14 pounds fat and 126 pounds lean body mass (bone, muscle, organ tissue, blood,...).
Now what is a good body fat percentage? There is no single agreed-upon perfect body fat percentage. Instead, this depends entirely on your gender and your level of physical activity. The American Council on Exercise has come up with the following classification:
| Description | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Essential Fat | 2-5% | 10-13% |
| Athletes | 6-13% | 14-20% |
| Fitness Enthusiasts | 14-17% | 21-24% |
| Healthy Average | 18-24% | 25-31% |
| Dangerously high (obese) | 25% and over | 32% and over |
A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily functions. Fat regulates body temperature, cushions and insulates organs and tissues and is the main form of the body's energy storage. Check out this body fat chart which describes fat ranges and their associated categories.
