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Recommended Maximum Percentage of Body Fat for Young Women

Young women today are under tremendous pressure to maintain a healthy body weight. While obesity is on the rise in the U.S., young women often look to fashion models as an inspiration for body image. Young women must strive to fight obesity and yet not feel pressure to achieve the unattainable goals that some media has set for them. This is a tricky balance to accomplish. However, there actually is an ideal body fat percentage for young women; striving for this optimum percentage will ensure that young women are healthy.

  1. Finding Body Fat Percentage

    • There are many methods to discover your current body fat. The most accurate method for discovering your body fat percentage is being weighed underwater; unfortunately, this method is expensive because it requires a hydrostatic scale. Using a skin fold test is another method that is fairly accurate. This method uses a tool called a caliper, and the administrator of the test uses it to measure how much skin can be pinched in different areas of the body. These numbers are applied to an equation which calculates the body fat percentage. Many gyms offer fitness assessments in which a skin fold test is performed to find the current body fat percentage.

    Quick Ways to Measure Body Fat

    • An easier and quicker way to achieve this number is to use a body fat scale or use a formula based on your height and weight to find this number. Though these methods are not as accurate as others, they will give you an idea about how much body fat you have and if you should try to decrease that number. See the Resources section for an online body fat calculator based on age, height and weigh.

    Essential Fat

    • Many people don't realize that our bodies have essential fat. This essential fat is necessary for many processes and functions that keep us alive. In addition, women naturally have more essential fat than men. Because a woman's body is designed for reproduction, we have more essential body fat for reproductive purposes. In fact, most young women will not start menstruation until they have achieved 17 percent body fat, and certain levels of body fat are required for ovulation.

    Variations

    • Body fat percentages don't take into account muscle mass. Plus, it's very difficult to set an ideal body fat percentage for children and teenagers. In fact, the Center for Disease Control does not set a healthy weight range for children or teenagers. This is because the ideal weight range varies from week to week because children and teens grow so quickly. In addition, the number changes based on height. The CDC does, however, offer a BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator. This number can give you an indication if a child or teen has a healthy weight based on age, height and weight percentiles.

    Women's Body Fat Percentage

    • A healthy body fat percentage for a woman ranges between 14 and 25 percent depending on age. Traditionally, young women have higher a higher metabolic rate than older women. Our metabolic rate slows with age. Therefore, young women's body fat percentage should range from 14 to 21 percent. Women who have 35 percent body fat or more are considered obese. There are severe health risks associated with obesity, but having too little body fat can also increase health risks. Therefore, it's important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you eat well and exercise daily, your body fat percentage should adjust to healthy, normal ranges.

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