Exploring Body Composition: What is Fat-Free Body Weight and What Should It Be?

Prerex: Figure out fat-free body weight, its ideal levels in men, women, and children, and its composition. Join us as we understand why a certain level of fat in our body is necessary for achieving optimal health and fitness.

In today's world, most people are trying to achieve a higher percentage of fat-free body weight, which essentially refers to the muscle mass of the body, especially when considering body composition and weight management. Occasionally confused with low body mass, fat-free body weight includes your body's organs, water, bone, and muscle content only. In other words, it refers to all the components that contribute to your overall body weight except fat.   

Can fat-free body weight even exist?

Your body is composed of a couple of components: one is fat and the other is fat-free. Therefore, fat-free body weight is a preferential part of your body composition. Fat mass consists of all the fat tissues in your body, whereas fat-free mass is everything else, consisting of organs, fluids, muscle, and bone content. 

Research has shown that you can obtain fat free body weight after subtracting essential sources of fat from your total body weight. Hence, it is indeed possible for fat free body weight to exist.

The natural level of fat content in men, women, and other groups, according to doctors

According to doctors and healthcare professionals, the natural level of fat content in men, women, children, and older groups of people are as follows:

• For people aged 20-39, women should aim for 21-31% body fat, and men should aim for 8-19% body fat. 
• For people between the ages of 40 and 59, women should aim for 23-33% body fat, and men should aim for 11-21% body fat. 
• For people between the ages of 60 and 79, women should aim for 24-35% body fat, and men should aim for 13-24% body fat.

For children between the ages of 1 and 3, the ideal fat calorie should range from 30% to 40% of total calories. For children above the age of 4, the fat calories should make up 25-35% of the total calories.

What is body fat, and why is it needed in your body?

The entire amount of fatty tissue in your body, devoid of any muscle mass, bodily fluids, or electrolytes, is represented by the number of fatty muscles. The essential body fat percentage for women is greater than that for men. This is due to the fact that women need to bear children in their wombs and other hormonal functions. Women need at least 9% more body fat than men to live a normal and healthy life.

Some percentage of body fat is indeed required in every human body owing to the following important functions it serves:

• Insulation from heat and cold.
• Energy storage and release.
• Cushioning around the softer organs.
• Maintaining sensitivity to insulin.
• Generating thermogenic heat.
• Maintaining a balance of energies.
• Regulating hunger and satiety.
• Storing and releasing various forms of energy.
• Regulating the levels of cholesterol and glucose.

Ideal body fat percentage for men and women

The ideal body fat percentage for men and women, according to the American Council on Exercise, is as follows:

For women

• Essential fat- 10-13%
• Athletes- 14-20%
• Fitness- 21-24%
• Acceptable- 25-31%
• Obesity- >32%

For men

• Essential fat- 2-5%
• Athletes- 6-13%
• Fitness- 14-17%
• Acceptable- 18-24%
• Obesity- >25%

Conclusion 

Fat-free body weight is not just a mere concept. Everyone can achieve this by following a certain set of fitness rules. However, some form of fat percentage in the body is very essential for everyone to achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Summary

Understanding fat free body weight requires you to have a clear knowledge of what it is, and how important the presence of a certain percentage of body fat is.