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At under 5 feet height what percentage of body fat is acceptable as healthy?

shirazum2023
shirazum2023 Posts: 54 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 4 feet 11 inches. Around 49.5-50.5 kgs. My body fat is 33.5% according to a body fat scale.
I have recently started working out. Following the Stronglift 5*5 3 days a week and pull up progression on 2 days of the week. I have definition on my shoulder and I have a little visible biceps but I was wondering according to my body fat scale, I am obese. I am quite concerned.
My measurements are,
Chest - 35
Waist - 28
Hip - 36
Thighs - 21.5

Replies

  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    You're not obese. Both your weight and body fat are in the healthy range.
  • spyro88
    spyro88 Posts: 472 Member
    Essential fat 10-13%
    Athletes 14-20%
    Fitness 21-24%
    Acceptable 25-31%
    Obesity >32%

    From https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/ideal-body-fat-percentage
  • Naija82
    Naija82 Posts: 345 Member
    shirazum2023 wrote: »
    I am 4 feet 11 inches. Around 49.5-50.5 kgs. My body fat is 33.5% according to a body fat scale.
    I have recently started working out. Following the Stronglift 5*5 3 days a week and pull up progression on 2 days of the week. I have definition on my shoulder and I have a little visible biceps but I was wondering according to my body fat scale, I am obese. I am quite concerned.
    My measurements are,
    Chest - 35
    Waist - 28
    Hip - 36
    Thighs - 21.5

    The scale measurements are not very accurate I wouldn't worry too much on the number there. I tend to go by how my body looks. When I have a good BF% I can see my abs, now they are hiding in lots of layers of fat
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,114 Member
    Percentage of body fat for ANYONE is ideal regardless of height. For women it's 25% and for men 20%.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 667 Member
    Body fat scales measure your body fat based on the electrical resistance of fat vs non-fat tissues. Electricity always follows the shortest path. Also, those scales are programmed with one of a variety of algorithms. These two facts together translate into: inaccurate body fat % results of just the lower part of your body.

    Health status has a body fat calculator that calculates based body measurements. https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/body-fat-percentage-calculator/
    These calculations aren’t accurate either. They are based on databases maintained by different US organizations. It provides 4 different BF%.

    What I do: I take the average of the 5 results.

    At the end of the day, unless you are a performance athlete or a body builder planning to enter competitions, your body fat % doesn’t really matter.
    What really matters, is how you feel. Do you feel fit and healthy?

    Take care
  • shirazum2023
    shirazum2023 Posts: 54 Member
    @sgt1372 @kshama2001 I actually fall under the 20-22% to 25% pictures. I also noticed I have visible shoulder lines and biceps and when I flex, my chest bones are mildly visible from under the skin. I dont have abs though but I kind of dont have bulging fat either. My thighs are a little bigger I would say but my butt hurts from not having enough cushion already.

    @tgillies003 I have never felt fitter. Its been 5 weeks since I have started stronglift 5*5 and all my lifts have progressed immensely. I can do around 12 clean push ups, 2/3 dips and I have become quite agile which I am enjoying so much.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    edited October 2020
    Don't worry about the body fat scale - as others have said , it's not accurate. 4'11' and 110 lbs - sounds good to me. Maybe you have a couple extra lbs of fat, but I wouldn't worry about it. Keep up with what you are doing, Strong Lifts is a good beginners program -You are making good progress - roll with it and reassess things in a couple months
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