The Line Must Be Drawn Here! Why You Shouldn’t Care If Your Body Fat Percentage Isn’t Under 15%
My name may be Rafi, but I’m going to be “frank” with you, and tell you that this complete and total obsession among people with their body fat percentage has to stop. It was sort of amusing when it started, but now it has crossed the line. Like Jean-Luc Picard once said, “The line must be drawn here! This far and no further!”
[If I get over 100 comments on this post, I will reenact this scene and post it for the entire internet to see. Seriously.]
First, let me just state the facts. In general, women in their 20′s should have between 21%-32% body fat and men in their 20′s should have between 8%-19% body fat according to this. It goes up a few percentage points as you get older. That means that if you have 15% body fat and you’re active as a man or you have 26% and you’re active as a woman, that you’re doing great. In fact, you probably look pretty good too.
Let me go even further to say that it’s probably better to have some body fat. Why? Because body fat has a purpose, like insulating us from the cold and giving us some extra fat to survive going without a few meals. Like animals or old school heavy weight boxers, we’re supposed to be muscular with a layer of fat on the outside. I guarantee you that you’ll never see a bear complain that they’re too “fat” when they know that their body is rippling with immense weight and power.
["Am I too fat? Because I was just watching the Machinist with Christian Bale and I'm definitely bigger than him." - Random Polar Bear]
Here’s an excerpt from an article on how to measure your body fat to show you how ridiculous the entire notion of measuring your body fat is:
“Beneath the skin is a layer of subcutaneous fat, and the percentage of total body fat can be measured by taking the ‘skinfold’ at selected points on the body with a pair of callipers.”
I don’t know about you, but the second calipers are involved with any kind of fat measuring technique, that’s my cue to forget about it. I mean seriously…calipers for measuring fat?
[Seriously...calipers?]
Here’s a better idea by Rafi Bar-Lev on how to measure your body fat:
1) Take your shirt.
2) Put your shirt on.
3) See how said shirt feels on you.
4) Does it feel like it fits you better or has more room now that you’ve been on a diet? Great, you’ve lost body fat!
[The advanced equipment needed to measure your body fat using the Rafi Bar-Lev method.]
Now you know why you shouldn’t care if your body fat percentage isn’t under 15%. So next time someone tries to convince you to use the calipers, use your head, and just say no.
P.S. I’m now on twitter…so follow me!
Hmmm I’ve gotta admit, that’s a lot less complicated to the methods I use to measure body fat! I love the non-measuring fitness mentality – it’s so much more natural. However if one has set the goal of six-pack abs it can be helpful to find out what BF% they’re at so they have an idea of how low they need to get it…
Or would you say six-pack abs represent too little body fat??
Rafi,
Awesome post. I listened to a bunch of hockey players from the 60s and 70s on a local radio talk show and they spoke about how much less, in general, players were injured back then.
Obviously there are multiple hypotheses about the statement above, but one that perked my ears was about guys having more body fat and thus better able to handle the pounding their bodies would take.
Your post totally jogged my memory of this topic.
Elliot – I really think the entire notion of measuring body fat is just a huge gimmick. If someone wants to get six pack abs they should just look in the mirror and if they see improvement then stick to their dieting and workout program.
Michael – That’s a really interesting idea about why hockey players used to get injured less. Definitely something to think about.
-Rafi
I judge my body fat based on how my pants fit – if they are a little tighter than I put on some weight. If they are little more loose, then I am doing ok.
Thanks for your reply Rafi, it’s definitely given me food for thought. After all, some people have visible abs with unusually high BF%’s whereas others need very low BF%’s before anything is visible. In fact the more I’m thinking about it, the more I like not measuring things like weight, size, BF% – it’s quite liberating in fact!
Hey Rafi,
I really like where you’re coming from as far as not obsessing over numbers. IMO, even more important than how your t-shirt fits is how well you move and how you feel when you move. Unencumbered freedom of movement is a beautiful thing and a great measure of how fit you are.
However, having said that I have to say that skinfold measurements, when done precisely, and analyzed by someone who knows what they are looking at, can be a valuable tool in an overall wellness strategy. I use twelve sites and look at the ratios between sites as much as the actual bodyfat percentage. NOT EVERYONE needs this though. It’s more for fine tuning, once your t-shirt fits…
Cheers,
Adam
I’m just commenting because i want to see you reenact that scene…
Jeremy – Yep, that’s the easiest way to do it.
Elliot – I’m glad you feel that way. Not being obsessive about constantly measuring your body fat is definitely a liberating idea!
Adam – Nice to see you around here. I think that if it makes someone feel more confident with their weight loss goals to have a professional use the calipers on them…then I support it. But in general, I don’t think it’s necessary.
Karin – That’s the spirit!
[...] The Line Must Be Drawn Here! Why You Shouldn’t Care If Your Body Fat Percentage Isn’t Under 15% [...]
First off yes I agree with you about body fat Percentages have gone too far and become obsessive. However I would also like to say low body fat has very little to do with fitness, you can see this in deprived areas of the World. Low body fat is due to less calories being consumed than your body requires. Health and fitness is a different story and the by product of this is usually loss in body fat anyway. Move more and eat less and you will start to feel and look better, forget your body fat percentage and look in the mirror or take pictures at regular times. As for the Polar bear their soul existence is to survive and re-produce, humans however are the top of the food chain and can live in the comfort of wanting to look and feel good also. But for some reason humans believe more is better whether that be steroids, muscle size, body fat loss or smaller dress size we as a race have become obsessive…. this is why the line has to be drawn now !!
I agree with you that once we get down to a healthy weight, we should be more concerned about how we feel than hitting a given number. Not that I think that means having a low body fat number is bad, but its easy to get hung up on the numbers.
Kevin – Well said!
Greg – Yep.
How do you not have more than 100 comments yet?! Come on, people!
P.S. In high school personal fitness class we had to measure our body fat with calipers, and we pretty much all ended up being “obese” according to the measurements….and the majority of kids in my class were scrawny 16 or 17-year-old kids. Either calipers are not very accurate, or our use of calipers had something to be desired….I’m going with the former b/c they are scary.
well you could have elaborated more but I completely agree with what your saying!
Number crunching is bullshit, we should always just listen to our bodies
interesting post, but i have to disagree. what about what a thin person with high body fat (aka skinny fat) puts on a shirt and feels great in it? good for them, but their still at a high risk for health problems that occur with having an unhealthy level of body fat.
weight is a silly number but body fat percentage is critical when you’re trying to achieve health and fitness goals.
LMAO! I loved this post. But I think the more important thing than measuring fat (whether with a shirt of with calipers) is the measure of your own happiness and true HEALTH, whether mental or physical. Everyone has their own body type, and not everyone can be buff and muscular. Our bodies are not to be measured at all, but as long as it serves the purpose of being able to live to its fullest, as long as it does not hinder us in doing what we want, then it’s perfect the way it is.
Niki – I laughed hysterically when I read your comment. You need to be around here more often!
Eliza – You’re absolutely right.
Gina – Yeah, some people can feel good in shirts even when they might have too much fat. To remedy this, they should also take a quick look at themselves with their shirts off.
Sophia – Glad you enjoyed it.
I agree that as long as people are living healthily, they shouldn’t be stressed about how they look. Although I still do show people how to get ripped or slim or how to get in amazing shape on this site, I try not to promote vanity.
These are really awesome comments. Let’s keep ‘em coming!
I like your site ( the frequency at which you post is amazing) but I disagree with this post. If your bodyfat is over about 10% your sixpack will not be visable. Also girls are more impressed by muscle definition(low body fat) than muscle size. Also why would you want to carry around any more weight than you have too. I may be a little biased because my body fat must be around 5% but I really can not see the point in having excess fat. Fat is of little use in our mordern world where your never far away from a fridge when you get hungry.
Henry – This is one of the few fitness sites on the internet where you won’t see me telling people they need to look like a photoshopped Hollywood actor (who often look terrible in real life) or Arnold Schwarzenegger in order to be fit or look good.
Didn’t you tell me you wanted to get into the SAS? Because the army requires real world, functional fitness where you’ll be better off with some body fat. In general, 5% body fat is way too low unless you have some kind of medical problem that you can’t help it right now.
Instead of answering your question, I’m going to ask the girls who visit this site to answer your question about what they like more.
So to the girls…do you prefer a guy who has 7% body fat and is obsessive compulsive about his weight, body fat, how his body looks and when he works out. Or would you rather a guy who has 15% body fat but is in solid shape, isn’t compulsive about his body fat % or his body but instead prefers to admire yours…and is fun to be around. Let’s hear what you have to say!
Henry: I don’t think anybody is asking you to carry more fat than necessary. 5% or 15%, what I find most attractive about a guy is his confidence in himself, and his charming personality. I admit it is nice to see a guy with nice muscle definition and a six-pack, but I don’t really find myself wanting to spend time with him if he is obsessive-compulsive about his weight and working out. Vain guys are such a turn off!
But wait–I’m not saying you are vain or anything. I’m just saying, I wish everybody would just be at their own natural weight and be confident of themselves. My brother himself is really slim and probably has less than 10% body fat…but then he is just naturally that way. Maybe you are that way too. But if your natural weight is a bit plumper, then that is perfectly fine, too.
[...] Check this post about why body fat doesn’t matter, and please be sure to contribute your input so I can see [...]
Great post, Rafi! I much prefer your t-shirt strategy, rather than those calipers!
@FitnessWP
rafi,sophia low body fat levels (up to a point) are healthy, studies have shown that people with low fat levels have longer life spans and are less prone to many diseases. There is a post on the fitness black book explaining how being only a little overweight increases mortality. I will increase my fat level before taking s.a.s selection ( to cope with food deprivation) and extreme cold ( I aim to join the mountain troops who specialise in mountain climbing and arctic warfare).
Sophia – Cool answer.
AF – Thanks for the compliment!
Henry – It really depends on the situation, but low body fat percentage doesn’t automatically equal health either, since like Kevin pointed out, low body fat percentage can also mean someone is God forbid malnourished. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not encouraging people to be overweight, I’m just saying you don’t need to get obsessive about having an extremely low body fat percentage.
When my boyfriend says he’s fat, I tell him that I just want him to be healthy, happy, and active. If he is missing one of these, then I encourage him to work out more. I am definitely more concerned about how a man acts and his personality than how ripped he is.
What about Salt? Salt is inorganic and can’t be absorbed by the body, its also a great preserver of body fat and so too is sugar. What you eat today is walking and talking tomorrow. Do you like you’re fizzy drinks? Well, salt and sugar will do a wonderful job of preserving and increasing the bodys fat stores which is why at nearly 40 I’m not such a bad catch. I stay away from the salt shakers because they’re extremely bad news. Salt will wash away the synovial fluid between your bones and cement them together. Nice huh? No, its horrible, take a closer look at older people and how they walk. These folks are in pain, crippled by their joints and on painkillers. Some waddle from side to side because their joints are so stiff and ruined from a lifetime of self indulgence. It is possible to eat yourself healthy but I want to enjoy what I eat. Its a bit of a catch 22 if you have a slow metabolism but even time will catch up with the best of metabolisms if the natural laws of nature are ignored. I have a melon fast once a week which is really tastey and good for you. Just melon and water for the whole day, its awesome and full of natural salt cleansers. Okay, confession time. I drink tea and love scones, yes thats right. The bleached foodless white flour ones with raisons. I guess nobodys perfect but where do you draw the line between health and happiness? You could say I’m in a battle against time! LOL!
Honestly, I never understood what the obsession was with the whole body fat % thing either. If you’re doing the right things, that’s all that should matter. I’m beginning to wonder if the whole craze started with 2 people in a crowded gym somewhere who were in impecable shape and ran out of competitive comparisions to make with eachother. So one of them turned to the other and said “Oh yeah? Well what’s your body fat percentage?”