Which matters more: body fat or BMI?

Harold came home from the gym last night.  After hearing about his killer of a work-out, he shared with me the puzzling results of his healthassessment.  He weighs......uh I better not tell yet..... but he weighs more than me (yippee) but was told that he has a body percentage rate of 12%.  He asked the trainer if they were sure because he was under the impression that body builders had a fat % of 7-9%.  Well I was confused as well....I was used to hearing what I thought were numbers more like 50% for someone.  Then the question came to mind, "Is there a difference between body fat percentage and Body Mass Index or BMI?"  Yes there is?  The answer lies below in an article I stumbled (ok searched for) upon today.  In light of the article, here is a chart of body fat % averages for a normal population:

Body Fat Percentage for The Average Population


Age       Up to 30         30-50          50+

Females 14-21%         15-23%       16-25%

Males       9-15%         11-17%       12-19%

Average Body Fat Percentage of Athletes

Sport Male Female Sport Male Female

Baseball 12-15% 12-18% Rowing 6-14% 12-18%

Basketball 6-12% 20-27% Shot Putters 16-20% 20-28%

Body building 5-8% 10-15% Skiing (X country) 7-12% 16-22%

Cycling 5-15% 15-20% Sprinters 8-10% 12-20%

Football (Backs) 9-12% No data Swimming 9-12% 14-24%

Football (Linemen) 15-19% No data Tennis 12-16% 16-24%

Gymnastics 5-12% 10-16% Triathlon 5-12% 10-15%

High/long Jumpers 7-12% 10-18% Volleyball 11-14% 16-25%

Ice/field Hockey 8-15% 12-18% Weightlifters 9-16% No data

Racquetball 8-13% 15-22% Wrestlers 5-16% No data

OK, have you worked out the ideal range for you? Great. You've probably already know the risks associated with falling significantly above the upper limit of this range. But what about the lower end of the scale?

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Lower is Not Necessarily Better

A certain amount of body fat is vital for the body to function normally and healthy. In fact striving for a body fat percentage that is too low can be dangerous. Here's why...

Measuring your body fat percentage calculates your TOTAL body fat. This total body fat can be split into 2 categories...

Storage Fat -- This consists mainly of fat deposited just under the skin or subcutaneous fat. Storage fat for men and women is fairly similar. For the average man 12% of bodyweight is storage fat and for the average woman 15% of bodyweight is storage fat.

Essential Body Fat -- For the body to function normally and healthily a certain amount of body fat is required. This is called essential fat. For women the average amount of essential fat is 12% of bodyweight and for men it is 3%.

Trying to achieve a body fat percentage that is so low it affects your essential fat stores is NOT good for your health.

Some storage fat is also required for good health. It's used to protect internal organs in the chest and abdomen. So remember...

Aim to stay within the range for age and gender and rest assured you are taking one of the most positive steps to life-long health you can.
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