The Naked Truth about Body Fat Percentage

Body fat percentage is all the buzz at the moment. You’ve seen it spoken about in Quest and know that if you reduce it by 1% you go into the final draw, but so what? What’s the big deal? It must mean that it’s good for you to lose body fat, and yes, anyone who thinks they are "fat" wants to lose fat, but is this necessary? And what about the "skinny-malinks" – should body fat percentage even be an issue?

A whole lot of questions, I know, but I’m sure many of you have had these thoughts running through your head. This might even be the closest some of you have come to exercise. Hopefully, the following description will help to change your thoughts on physical activity…

Allow me to give you a more vivid picture of body fat percentage. If you weigh 70kg and your body fat percentage is 30%, this means that your fat makes up 21kg of your total weight. Aaaahhhhh! If you consider that body fat is similar to a block of margarine, then picture 21 one kg blocks of marge distributed throughout your body; not just under the skin but around your organs and amongst your muscles as well. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Get the picture? Much easier to understand how body fat percentage can be such a problem to your health, isn’t it?

Looking at the "skinny-malinks" – if a skinny person does no exercise, he/she won’t have much muscle which means that these blocks of marge can easily take up 30% of their body mass. Don’t be fooled by appearance. This is definitely possible.

So how do we reduce the problem? Exercise and healthy eating habits are your best options. Firstly, you need to try and increase your muscle mass. Don’t worry ladies, this won’t make you "bulk up". Increasing your muscle mass helps to boost your metabolism and in turn, burn more fat. On the nutrition side of things, you need to eat a balanced, healthy diet but at the same time, you need to consider the energy equation (energy in = energy out). If the amount of energy you burn off during the day is greater than the energy you take in from food and drink, you’ll lose weight. Doing both of these things will help to reduce your body fat percentage.

Body fat percentage does play an important role in the body and it is possible to have too little body fat percentage. The problem arises when your body fat percentage is too great. The reality is that large percentages of body fat can put you at risk for heart disease and diabetes, amongst others. Quite a realisation, isn’t it? Well, there is something you can do about it.

Written by Stephanie Goedhals