What percent of body fat is normal?

What percent of body fat is normal?

John Spencer Ellis (Author, TV Show Host, Trainer and CEO, National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association) gives expert video advice on: What percent of body fat is normal?; What is the best way to lose fat?; What are the health risks to being overweight? and more...

Optimal body fat for a male is approximately 15 percent, and for a female its about 22 percent. An athlete for each gender can go 5 to 7 percent below that proportion of body fat. For a woman you wouldn't want the body fat to get too low because she could have amenorrhoea which is cessation of the menstrual cycle, which can lead to other health considerations that are not good. The average American body fat for a man is probably about 22 to 24 percent, and for a female it's into the 30 percentile range. This disproportionate amount of body fat is a leading cause of a lot of the disease processes that we now see all across America.