What body fat % should I be?

bexxxster
bexxxster Posts: 88 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just got some new scales today that can measure my body fat. I'm 5ft 2in and 162lbs, what % should I be?
Scales say i'm 36.7%, but got no idea what it should be!

Replies

  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    For women:
    Average is 25%-31%
    Over 31% is obese
    Not trying to be mean. It's a medical classification, not an insult.
  • EllysJellys
    EllysJellys Posts: 111
    use the myfitnesspal bmi calculator http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmi-calculator
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
    My doctors "Goal" BF% for me is 22-25%
  • bexxxster
    bexxxster Posts: 88 Member
    For women:
    Average is 25%-31%
    Over 31% is obese
    Not trying to be mean. It's a medical classification, not an insult.

    Well I already knew I was obsese anyways but not quite that bad.. opps lol! Thanks :)
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    For women:
    Average is 25%-31%
    Over 31% is obese
    Not trying to be mean. It's a medical classification, not an insult.

    Well I already knew I was obsese anyways but not quite that bad.. opps lol! Thanks :)
    You have a lot of company on MFP.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    Your scales are probably not accurate. There are several ways to measure body fat % and electrical impedance scales can be one of the least accurate. However.....they can still be used as a tool for measuring progress by just looking for a diminishing number. For example, if my scale says I am 50% body fat, my goal would be to get it to say 45% whether it is accurate or not.
    I use the Military Body Fat calculator (Google that, there is even an app for your phone) and have personally found it to be the most accurate, however any method can be skewed depending on your body composition.

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