This is one question that most people have asked at one time or another. It could be put as; ‘how fat am I?’ Simply put, what is my body fat percentage? Simply put, Body Fat Percentage is the ratio of fat to other contents in the body (water, blood, organs etc.). To understand body fat percentage, we have to grasp how our body works. When we eat, the food has a caloric value (read more about calories here). This food is turned to energy (glucose) and taken to the body cells for use in our daily activities. When we consume excess than we need, the body converts the excess glucose to glycogen which is stored in the liver. When the capacity of the liver is exceeded, the remaining glycogen is stored on the muscles as an overlay i.e. it takes the shape of the particular muscle underneath. The more the glycogen stored, the more the weight of the body and its bloating.

There is some fat needed by the body, this is called essential fat. Any level beneath this could lead to serious medical complications. For men, it is around 2-5% and for women 10-12%. Reasons are:
- Our major organs are covered in fat to insulate them. If this fat is eroded, it leads to serious medical complications and ultimately death.

- It is fat that is converted to energy when the body needs it; if not our muscle will be depleted.
- Fat absorbs certain nutrients which will be made available to the body when needed e.g. Vit A, D, E and K (Fat soluble vitamins)


WHAT IS THE NORMAL BODY FAT PERCENTAGE

The essential body fat percentage as said earlier is 2-4% for men and 10-15% for women. It is not advisable to go below this. Even professional body builders only get to this level during and around their performance. Beyond that, their fat percentage is much higher.
Because of Estrogen levels, women are not expected to go below 10-12% especially if they are either trying to or have intention to conceive.

The following table shows men and women at different body fat categories.

Knowing yours will help you in your weight loss goals. There are different methods to know your body fat percentage and one the cheapest and effective is looking in the mirror.

NOTE: How you look at a particular level of fat depends on our muscle mass. What this means is that two men with 10% body fat percentage and differing muscle mass will look quite different from each other as the below image shows.