Body fat percentage — not the number on the scale — decides whether you see abs. Here's what it means, the ranges for men and women, and how to estimate yours at home.
From the original icanbefitter.com archive (2019), lightly edited for the new site. — Upen
Body fat % ranges for women
For visible abs, we need to decrease our body fat percentage. As a general statement, males can see abs below 15% body fat and females below 23–25%. We should also understand that essential body fat is necessary to maintain life and reproductive functions. The percentage of essential body fat for women is greater than that for men, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions.
Fat Percentage
Fat percentage is the ratio of body fat mass to entire body weight.
Fat % = [ Body fat weight / Total weight ] × 100
This is important to know because, for BMR calculations we need to take into account lean body weight and not total body weight. Let me explain — if a person weighs 80 kgs but carries a lot of fat, say 25%, that means:
Total weight: 80 kgs
Fat %: 25%
Body fat weight = 25 × 80 / 100 = 20 kgs
Lean body mass = 80 − 20 = 60 kgs
Obviously the energy requirement of a 60 kg person will be less than an 80 kg person. Makes sense?
How to calculate my fat percentage?
There are several techniques for doing this, but we will explain the BMI method.
Note: All the methods are approximations. For accurate measurements, one needs to get a body composition analysis test done.
Kids Body Fat % = 1.51 × BMI − 0.7 × Age (yrs) − 3.6 × Gender + 1.4
Adult Body Fat % = 1.39 × BMI + 0.16 × Age (yrs) − 10.34 × Gender − 9
(Gender: male = 1, female = 0)
Now that you know your body fat %, you might be interested in calculating your BMR.