What should your body fat percent be?

Body fat percent varies considerably for men and women, and age. However, there are some standards. The minimum percent bodyfat considered safe and acceptable for good health is 5% for males and 12% for females. The average adult bodyfat is closer to 15%-18% for men and 22%-25% for women.

Athletes, typically, find themselves at the low end of this scale. Optimal levels of body fat are much lower for those striving for high level performance. Ranges for professional athletes are quite a bit lower than for the average, healthy individual. Much of this difference can be attributed to the increased lean weight (muscle mass) of top athletes. The impact of body size on performance is one consideration that may correlate with body fat.

While levels of bodyfat seem to be related to performance, body composition alone has never been a great predictor of sports performance. Several studies have suggested that percent bodyfat is inversely related to maximal aerobic capacity and to distance running performance. Lean muscle mass seems to be positively related to performance in sports where the ability to generate maximal force is required (this may help to explain why a lot of those defensive linemen appear to have a high body fat levels). The bodyfat percents for elite athletes vary largely by sport. Clearly, the association between low body fat and improved performance is not precise, and there is little evidence of performance benefits when male athletes drop under 8% and women drop under 14% bodyfat.