Standard value table
How high the normal body fat percentage of the body should be depends on various factors. Among other things, such standard values depend on age, sex and physique. Therefore there are so-called norm value tables, in which one can read off the appropriate percentage figures for the body fat portion depending upon age and sex.
For young and healthy men up to an age of about 40 years, for example, a normal body fat percentage is in the range of 8-20%. A value below 8% is considered low in this age category and a value above 25% is considered very high. In young and healthy women, a normal body fat percentage is in the range of 21-30% and thus significantly higher than in men.
In young women, a body fat percentage below 21% is low and a body fat percentage above 39% is very high. If we now look at women and men with a higher age, we can see in the norm value tables that the body fat percentage, which can be considered normal, also increases with age. From the age of 60 years, according to the norm value table, a body fat percentage of up to 36% for women and a body fat percentage of up to 25% for men is considered normal. A certain percentage of body fat is essential for life. For men this percentage should not be less than about 4% and for women not less than about 10%.
Lower body fat percentage
In principle, weight reduction should be based on a combination of behavioral, exercise and nutritional therapy. These three parts should also serve as a basis for weight stabilization, because the phase following weight loss plays at least an equally important role in preventing the well-known “yo-yo effect”. As is well known, losing weight begins in the “head“.
There is a large number of recommendations from the field of behavior therapy.In concrete terms, this means, for example, that you should keep a diet diary in which you list what you have eaten throughout the day and calculate the calories at the end of the day. Finally, one can then compare this calculated amount with the amount of calories needed and very often discovers that the amount consumed clearly exceeds the recommended amount of calories. Another example from the field of behavioral change is the practice of optimal eating behavior.
For example, one can limit oneself to five small meals a day and also determine what one wants to eat, such as yogurt. In this way, one should avoid eating large amounts of additional food between the main meals. Beside the behavior therapy the movement therapy comes to likewise a crucial role.
Also here there are concrete Tipps, which can be helpful for lowering the body fat portion. It is optimal to meet with friends on fixed dates for endurance sports. This increases the likelihood and motivation that you will actually do sports.
However, not only endurance sports are helpful in reducing weight and thus body fat, but also everyday activities such as climbing stairs or cycling instead of taking the bus are highly effective in increasing calorie consumption and thus reducing weight. The third pillar to reduce weight is nutrition therapy. Here, they should pay particular attention to the quantity of the meal and what they eat.
Beware of hidden calories. Alcohol, for example, contains a large amount of calories and also stimulates the appetite. You should also reduce the amount of food.
It is perfectly legitimate to eat sweets during a weight reduction, but you should stick to a previously planned amount. So instead of a whole bar of chocolate, plan on eating just one bar of chocolate. Medication or even surgical procedures to reduce weight should only be used when behavioral, exercise and nutritional therapy have not been successful.
