Balanced body fat is important for the body to function correctly. While most people consider body fat a bulge, it is not an unhealthy part of your body. Excess fat drastically affects normal body functioning, and just like that, insufficient body fat, too, puts your health at risk.
Essential body fat has numerous benefits as it works as an insulator and also cushions your body. To help you calculate the right amount of body fat, multiple body fat calculators instantly provide the outcome that helps you track down if your body has an unhealthy amount of fat stored inside. Below, you will find the importance of body fat, what is a body fat calculator and how to keep your body away from storing extra fat.
What is Body Fat?
Body fat or adipose tissue is essential to various parts of the body as it secretes some essential hormones that are vital for the proper functioning of the body. The amount of essential body fat differs in both men and women as it is greater in women due to their highly active reproductive system, childbearing ability, and certain hormonal changes, which lead to having more essential body fat in women than men.
What is the Ideal Body Fat Percentage?
Whatever you eat directly impacts how much your body will store as essential and stored fat. When your diet is combined with physical activities, the body fat tends to alter. The essential fat in men is between 2% and 5 %, while in women, it is between 10% and 13%. Similarly, good body fat percentage is likely to fall between 21% to 33% in women and 8% to 18% in men, depending upon age.
While having an excess fat deposit is a serious health concern, it is equally important to consult a healthcare professional about the essential body fat percentage. As the person ages, the muscle mass tends to decrease while the fat mass increases, which is why the body starts sagging as the person ages. The essential body fat interlinks with the body mass index (BMI); based on every person’s BMI, the deposit of essential fat in the body differs.
What is Storage Fat, and How Does It Diffuse from Essential Body Fat?
Fat spreads throughout the body in the form of essential and stored body fat. It is important to understand different types of fat so it becomes easier for you to manage the body fat. Essential fat, as the name implies, is important for the survival of a body as it is found in nerve tissues, organ membranes, and bone marrow and works as a protective shield for several body organs. You cannot think of losing essential fat as it also plays a vital role as energy reserves.
Storage fat, or non-essential fat, is stored in the body, and when it expands from a certain limit, it results in obesity. As we know, being overweight or obese is a major triggering factor for various diseases, which emphasizes looking keenly into the non-essential fat deposit. However, being overweight does not necessarily mean that the person has an excess fat deposit; rather, it could also be the bone density and muscle mass that may result in being overweight.
There are several reasons behind non-essential fat deposits, including lack of exercise, poor diet, too much junk food consumption, and genetics. Most people have fatter bulges stored in their abdominal region, while some have fat buildup in their thighs. Most females who reach menopause have excess fat buildup around their thighs and hips, while in men above 40, the fat build is more visible around the abdomen. Obesity is one the major reasons behind depleted health which, in its severity, becomes lethal.
Subcutaneous Fat
Subcutaneous fat is a category of stored fat that resides beneath the skin. It is exactly that type of stored fat that is visible and makes a person concerned about taking care of their body weight.
Visceral Fat
Although visceral fat is also a type of stored fat, it has a different function and is totally different in terms of its appearance. Visceral fat resides in the abdomen region between the organs and is a more serious health threat than subcutaneous fat. An extreme buildup of visceral fat triggers metabolic obesity that increases the risks of underlying health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.
Why is it Important to Know Body Fat?
Your body fat is more like a health indicator determining your fitness and health status. While the majority of the population, especially adults, do not prioritize their fitness and fats, these factors are keys to a healthy and active lifestyle. Some people have an ideal weight but a fat bulge surrounding their organs, while some are overweight with a good body fat percentage.
Probably, it’s the height and bone density that results in an individual being overweight, which means that not all increasing body pounds mean that you have excessive fat storage. With a clear and deep understanding of the body fat deposit, investing yourself in an appropriate routine that provides the desired outcome becomes easier. Standing on a weighing scale and considering the resulting pounds is not a good or bad health determinant. Instead, you should focus more on knowing essential and non-essential body fat deposits.
How to Use a Body Fat Calculator?
There are a number of accurate scientific and medical ways to determine the body fat calculator, but these are quite expensive. A body fat calculator is a more convenient and cost-effective method of measuring body fat, and that too, in the comfort of your home. With the help of easily available tools at home, you can simply measure the required inputs and calculate the body fat percentage within a few seconds. A skinfold caliber or a measuring tape is your resort to proceed with the calculation.
Note that the results are not accurately used as medical evidence but only give you a rough estimation regarding your body fat. The calculator also estimates the excess fat to be burned if you plan to follow a weight loss program. Enter your gender, height, weight, waist size, and neck size, and press calculate. You will get an estimate of your body fat percentage with respect to your weight and height.
Bottom Line
Regardless of your goals about your body, it is important to understand your total body fat percentage. Neither too much fat nor too low fat is ideal for a healthy body. Your essential body fat works like a natural cushioning and is highly important for synthesizing several body hormones. High body fat can put you at risk of several health complications without you even realizing it.
A body fat calculator is a great way to know how much healthy and unhealthy fat you have stored inside your body. Once you have analyzed it, keeping track of your fat gain becomes easier. This calculator is a convenient and affordable way to look into fat storage that you can estimate easily from the comfort of your home.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which are some of the accurate scientific methods to calculate body fat?
Hydrostatic weighing, Dual-energy x-ray Absorptiometry, Body circumference measurements, skinfold calipers, and air-displacement plethysmography are some of the effective and accurate methods of calculating body fat.
What are the benefits of a good body fat percentage?
Having good body fat is important to achieve a better metabolism rate, regulate hormones, better vitamin storage, and improve reproductive health.
What are the reasons for increased visceral fat?
The accumulation of visceral fat is linked to a lack of proper sleep, poor eating habits, and a lack of aerobic exercises.
How is fat released from the body?
Fat is released from the body through sweat, feces, and urine. It is also released through the lungs while exhaling because, during the breathing process, the fat is primarily used as an energy resource.
How much losing body fat every month is considered ideal?
Losing 1 to 3% of body fat every month is considered ideal for both men and women.
How many fat cells are there in the human body?
The human body comprises three types of fat cells, including beige, white, and brown cells. White fat cells store energy in the form of fat deposits spread across the body. Brown fat commonly occurs in babies; however, adults, too, found some amount of brown fat, usually around the neck and shoulders. The heat is produced during the brown fat-burning process. Beige fat cells work like both brown and white fat cells. These fat cells store energy and act like brown fat cells in cold temperatures.
A fervent champion for holistic well-being, graces this community with her expertise in health and fitness. With a solid educational foundation in physical fitness and a commitment to empowering others, Sara distills her extensive knowledge and experience into actionable insights. Her writing, firmly grounded in evidence-based practices, aims to demystify health complexities and inspire readers to cultivate sustainable habits for a balanced life. As a certified fitness trainer, Sara offers a well-rounded perspective on wellness. Join Sara on this transformative journey towards a happier, healthier, and more vibrant you.
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