WHAT IS AN AVERAGE LEVEL OF BODY FAT?

WHAT IS AN AVERAGE LEVEL OF BODY FAT?

Average body fat levels vary among the sexes and among different age groups.

The average woman has about 23 percent body fat and the average man

approximately 17 percent. Female hormones and child-bearing genetics cause

women to carry at least 5 percent more body fat than men. In both genders, body

fat usually increases with age, while lean body mass decreases.

According to Dr. William Evans, who headed the Jean Mayer USDA Human

Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, the average person loses

6.6 pounds of lean body mass every decade after age 20. The rate of lean tissue

loss increases after age 45. With advancing age, most people gain fat even when

body weight doesn't change much; the muscle shrinks as the fat accumulates.

The average male college student (age 20) has about 15 percent body fat. The

average sedentary middle-aged male has 25 percent body fat or more.