How much body fat should I have?

How much body fat should I have? It's a common question, especially since you've probably heard that you shouldn't rely on your scale to accurately reflect your health or fitness status. It’s true: A basic scale doesn’t consider factors like your height, age, body composition, or where your muscle and fat are distributed — all crucial data that help paint a more complete picture of your health.

Body fat percentage is a much more precise way to gauge whether you’re overweight or obese and to monitor your weight loss and fitness progress. But it has limitations — including the fact that it can be tricky to find out your body fat percentage in the first place. And if you are able to measure yours, you might be wondering what the ideal body fat percentage is. So, how much body fat should you have? 

Keep reading for everything you need to know about body fat percentage.

Body composition refers to the amount of fat, water, bone, muscle, skin, and other tissues that comprise the human body. It’s typically expressed as a percentage of body fat and a percentage of lean body mass (i.e. everything else). Everyone has some fat tissue in their body; it has various important physiologic functions, including maintaining body temperature, regulating hormones, storing energy, and cushioning internal organs. However, a high body fat percentage can signal that you’re overweight or obese and come with significant health implications like an increased risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

Measuring your body fat percentage is easier said than done. There are several methods for doing so, each with pros and cons (below). In most cases, you’ll need to visit a fitness, medical, or research facility or see a medical or fitness professional to have your body fat measured.

• Skinfold Calipers: This is the lowest-tech — and subsequently most affordable and accessible — way to measure body fat. A fitness or medical pro will use skinfold calipers (little claw-like measurement devices) to pinch and measure folds of fat in various places around your body. The downside of this method is that it’s not as accurate as newer methods and, honestly, can feel a bit uncomfortable.

• Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA): BIA is done using a special device (typically handheld or scale-like) that sends a low-level electrical current through your body to measure the amount of fat tissue you have. It’s relatively accessible; your gym or doctor’s office may have a device, and it’s even possible to buy one for your home. However, accuracy and reliability can vary widely by device, and your hydration levels can influence the results. 

• Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA): You may have heard of getting a DXA scan to evaluate bone density, but it’s also the preferred method for measuring body fat due to its relative accuracy. The device is often found in research or clinical healthcare settings. You lie on the bed, and it runs X-ray beams through your body to measure your fat and fat-free mass. It’s a bit harder to access (you may need a healthcare professional’s referral), and its accuracy can also be influenced by hydration levels.

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT): Like DXA scans, MRIs and CT scans are medical diagnostic tools that can provide insight into how much body fat you have. They’re considered the most accurate way to quantify body composition but require expensive scanners, trained technicians, and special expertise to translate the results, so they’re not the easiest to try. CT also exposes your body to ionizing radiation which you may want to limit.

• Air displacement plethysmography (ADP): This body fat measuring technique uses a small, enclosed pod that measures the volume of air you displace as you sit inside it. It’s shown to be pretty accurate but can overestimate body fat in lean individuals. You can find ADP at some universities, medical settings, or fitness facilities, sometimes under the name BOD POD. It can be influenced by factors such as clothing worn and body hair.

• Hydrostatic Weighing: For hydrostatic weighing, you submerge your entire body in a high-tech pool. The amount of water your body displaces is measured and used to calculate your fat mass. You can find the setup at certain fitness centers, research settings, or medical facilities, though it’s usually expensive and can be uncomfortable since you usually have to dunk yourself multiple times and hold your breath underwater. 

There’s no one ideal body fat percentage for women, and healthy ranges vary based on factors like age and ethnicity. For example, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) considers 32 percent body fat as overweight/obese, while some new research suggests that, for women, being clinically overweight starts at 36 percent body fat and obesity at 42 percent body fat.

Here’s a general estimate of body fat percentages in women and their classifications according to ACE.

Just like for women, there’s no one ideal body fat percentage for men. Research shows that, for men, the health risks of being overweight start at 25 percent body fat, whereas obesity begins at 30 percent body fat. Here’s a rough breakdown of categories from ACE.

Body mass index (aka BMI) is a measure of your weight relative to your height. It’s calculated by dividing your body weight (in kilograms) by the square of your height (in meters). The formula reads: BMI = weight (kg) / height (m)².  If math isn’t your thing, you can also plug your info into the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s BMI Calculator. 

These are the general BMI categories, per the CDC.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a slightly different breakdown. Here are the BMI categories according to the WHO. 

Both the CDC and WHO use BMI as the go-to tool for diagnosing overweight and obesity, though it’s far from perfect. Because BMI only uses height and weight, it doesn’t differentiate between fat mass and lean mass and is considered less accurate than body composition measurements for assessing obesity-related health risks. 

BMI limitations

The biggest issue with BMI is that it doesn’t distinguish between fat, muscle, and bone mass. As a result, someone with a lot of muscle but little fat may be classified as overweight or even obese according to BMI. Conversely, someone with little muscle and more body fat could have “normal weight obesity” but have a healthy BMI. 

This measurement also doesn’t indicate what type of fat tissue you have or where in the body you’re carrying it — two important factors that influence how someone’s fat mass may affect their health. Finally, BMI also doesn’t account for body fat differences across race/ethnic groups, genders, sexes, and ages. The CDC and WHO have been using BMI for decades because it’s quick and simple to calculate, inexpensive, and noninvasive, but experts are aware of its limitations and are moving toward using BMI in conjunction with other tools.

Body fat percentage limitations 

High body fat percentage is strongly associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, but the health implications of a given body fat percentage vary depending on age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Though many body fat measurement methods are considered safe and have a reasonable degree of accuracy, they aren’t always easily accessible, and readings across different tools may produce inconsistent results. And even though body fat percentage is more accurate than BMI, it still doesn’t take into account other important health markers like blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Improving your body fat percentage basically entails addressing fat mass. The first-line treatment for doing so is through lifestyle interventions, including changing your diet and including more exercise or physical activity in your routine. In some cases, doctors may also refer patients for psychological treatment, like therapy, to help them make behavioral changes to help with weight loss. For people with a BMI of 30+ (or 27+ with comorbidities), GLP-1 weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are also an option, though they require a prescription from a medical professional. Finally, weight-loss surgery (like gastric banding or bypass) may be recommended in severe cases of obesity (BMI of 40+ or 35+ with comorbidities). When in doubt, talk to your doctor about which treatment option might be right for you.

No one number offers an all-encompassing view of how healthy you are; however, body fat percentage is one of the better markers for assessing overweight/obesity or monitoring weight loss progress. 

• Unlike BMI or weight, body composition can give you a pretty accurate look at how much fat you have on your body without being thrown off by muscle or other lean tissue, but its usefulness comes at a price — literally. 

• It can be expensive and difficult to get your body fat measured with a reliable method. If you’d like to get yours checked out, consulting with a doctor or fitness professional is the best place to start.

---

How we reviewed this article

Every article on Health Guide goes through rigorous fact-checking by our team of medical reviewers. Our reviewers are trained medical professionals who ensure each article contains the most up-to-date information, and that medical details have been correctly interpreted by the writer.

Editorial Guidelines | Medical Review Process

Current version

November 25, 2024

Written by

Lauren Mazzo

Fact checked by

Raagini Yedidi, MD

---

About the medical reviewer

Raagini Yedidi, MD

Raagini Yedidi, MD, is an internal medicine resident and medical reviewer for Ro.