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What does 1 stone weight loss look like?

One Stone Weight Loss

Defining 'one stone'.

A stone, a term familiar to those in the United Kingdom, is a unit of weight equivalent to 14 pounds. When we talk about losing a stone in weight, we refer to a substantial reduction, tantamount to shedding approximately 6.35 kilograms. This term, primarily used in Britain, Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries, gives us a benchmark to understand the volume of weight loss in a relatable, everyday context. In our discussion, one stone represents not just the weight loss, but also the health improvements, physical transformation, and psychological benefits it can bring along.

The Implication of Losing One Stone in Weight

One stone weight loss might appear just as a numerical value, but its implications run much deeper. Losing just 5% of your body weight (one stone for many) could lower your risk for several diseases including heart disease and certain types of cancer says Dr. Sarah Jarvis. Thus, losing one stone can signal a significant transformation in one's overall health and well-being.

What Impact Does One Stone Weight Loss have on Your Physical Appearance?

Impact on facial features.

When you lose one stone, the effects are apparent not only on the scales but also on your physical appearance, and one of the first places to show this change is the face. Facial features become more defined, leading to more prominent cheekbones, a more pronounced jawline, and overall, a leaner looking face. Some individuals might notice their eyes appearing larger or brighter due to reduced puffiness around the area.

Effect on Body Contours

As you shed pounds, the transformation becomes evident in your body contours too. A loss of one stone can result in a visibly flatter tummy, leaner arms, and more defined leg muscles. You might find your clothes fitting better, or even becoming loose, particularly around the waist and hip area. Anecdotal evidence from those who've lost one stone often describes a drop in clothing size, which certainly is a morale booster!

Changes in Posture and Gait

Interestingly, a weight loss of one stone can subtly change the way you carry yourself. With less weight to carry, your body will naturally use less energy in movement, possibly leading to an improvement in your posture and gait. You might find yourself standing taller, walking, or running more efficiently, or even noticing an increase in your overall agility and flexibility.

From a Health Standpoint: What does One Stone Weight Loss Mean?

The effect on blood pressure and heart health.

One stone weight loss can create substantial improvements in one's health, particularly concerning heart health. Statistics from the British Heart Foundation indicate that losing even a small amount of weight can reduce the strain on your heart and lower your blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, losing a stone can reduce levels of bad LDL cholesterol while raising levels of good HDL cholesterol, a win-win situation for heart health.

How does One Stone Weight Loss Influence Diabetes Risk?

There's substantial evidence linking weight loss to a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. For those already diagnosed with the condition, losing weight can help manage the symptoms more effectively and slow down the disease's progression, according to Diabetes UK. Additionally, losing one stone can significantly reduce insulin resistance, improving blood sugar control and leading to stable energy levels throughout the day.

The Role of Weight Loss in Joint and Bone Health

Finally, the benefit of losing a stone extends to your joint and bone health as well. For every pound lost, there is a four-pound reduction in the load exerted on the knee joint says National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Thus, losing one stone can ease joint pain, particularly in weight-bearing joints like the knees and hips, and improve mobility, encouraging a more active lifestyle. Additionally, weight loss can lead to improved bone health, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures in later life.

Frequently Asked Questions: Understanding One Stone Weight Loss

Does losing one stone make a noticeable difference.

Absolutely! Losing one stone in weight can indeed make a significant difference. A loss of 5-10% of body weight can have a profound impact on health, including improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels highlights Dr. Rachel Batterham, a leading weight loss researcher in UK. In terms of physical appearance, the change is often noticeable, with more defined body contours and facial features.

Can losing one stone change my clothing size?

Yes, it's quite possible. When you lose a stone, your body becomes leaner, and your measurements decrease. This reduction often results in a drop in clothing size. However, this can vary depending on body composition and where your body tends to lose fat first.

What body parts are most affected by losing a stone?

Weight loss impacts the entire body, but certain areas might show changes sooner based on your unique body shape and where you typically carry weight. Commonly, weight loss is noticeable in the face, belly, and hip region first. However, remember that the effects of weight loss, including improved health, are systemic and benefit your entire body.

Does losing one stone weight improve fitness level?

Undeniably, yes. Losing one stone lessens the strain on your body, leading to increased stamina and improved cardiovascular health. Many people find that after losing weight, they're able to exercise longer, perform day-to-day activities with less fatigue, and generally lead a more active lifestyle.

Real-Life Experiences: Stories of One Stone Weight Loss

Personal narratives: changes noticed after losing one stone.

John, a 35-year-old man from Manchester, shared his experience with us. After losing one stone, he noticed his energy levels skyrocketed, his sleep quality improved, and he dropped a trouser size. But most importantly, he felt a boost in his confidence that had a positive impact on all areas of his life.

Interviews: How People Feel After Losing One Stone

We also spoke with Sarah, a 45-year-old woman from Birmingham. She echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the emotional transformation that accompanied her weight loss. She shared that the accomplishment of losing a stone made her feel empowered, capable, and in control of her health journey.

How is One Stone Weight Loss Represented in Before and After Images?

Analysis of before and after photos.

Before and after photos are an excellent way to visualize the change a one stone weight loss can bring. When comparing these images, you might notice a more defined jawline, a flatter stomach, and an overall leaner figure. It's crucial, however, to remember that each person's weight loss journey is unique, and changes can vary from person to person.

Understanding the Visual Differences

The visual differences that come with a one stone weight loss might not just be in body size. Many people also report improved skin health, brighter eyes, and even a healthier hair appearance. These changes are often due to improved nutrition and overall better health.

The Psychological Impact of Losing One Stone

Effects on self-esteem and confidence.

Losing one stone often leads to a significant boost in self-esteem and confidence. This increase comes from achieving a set goal and seeing the physical evidence of your hard work. This newfound confidence can spill over into other areas of life, improving relationships, work performance, and overall life satisfaction.

Impact on Body Image and Self-Perception

Your perception of your body can also shift dramatically after losing a stone. Many people report feeling more comfortable in their bodies, experiencing less body dissatisfaction, and having a healthier relationship with their bodies.

Coping with Reactions from Others

When you lose weight, you may also notice a change in how others perceive and react to you. While many responses will be positive, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. It's crucial to remember that your weight loss journey is for you, and not everyone else.

Are There Downsides to Losing One Stone Weight?

Potential health risks of rapid weight loss.

While losing one stone has numerous health benefits, it's essential to lose weight at a safe and sustainable pace. Rapid weight loss can lead to muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, and gallstones. Always consult with a healthcare professional before beginning any weight loss plan.

The Possibility of Sagging Skin After Weight Loss

One potential downside of significant weight loss, including losing a stone, is the possibility of loose or sagging skin. This occurrence is more common in older individuals or those who lose weight quickly. Strength training can help by building muscle to fill out the skin better, and some creams and treatments can improve skin elasticity.

Expert Insights: Medical Professionals Weigh in on One Stone Weight Loss

What doctors say about one stone weight loss.

"Losing one stone in weight can significantly reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. The key is to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable manner, focusing on balanced nutrition and regular physical activity", according to Dr. Anna Williams, a renowned endocrinologist from London.

Views of Nutritionists and Dietitians on One Stone Weight Loss

"To lose one stone, it's not just about reducing food intake, but also about improving the quality of what you eat. Opt for a diet rich in whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, and limit processed foods and sugary drinks. These changes will not only help with weight loss but also improve overall health", explains Rachael Link, a prominent dietitian based in Bristol.

Strategies to Effectively Lose One Stone Weight

Dietary adjustments for one stone weight loss.

A balanced diet is vital for healthy weight loss. Aim for a variety of foods, ensuring you get a balance of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables for their essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Avoid foods high in added sugars, salt, and unhealthy fats, and opt for portion control to prevent overeating.

Role of Physical Exercise in Achieving One Stone Weight Loss

Regular physical activity, alongside dietary changes, is key to losing one stone. Exercise helps burn calories, boost metabolism, and maintain muscle mass during weight loss. It's recommended to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise each week, plus strength training activities on two or more days a week.

Importance of Sustainable Lifestyle Changes

Remember, losing weight isn't about temporary diet changes; it's about creating sustainable lifestyle habits. This includes not only changes to diet and physical activity, but also ensuring adequate sleep and finding healthy ways to cope with stress.

Recently Searched Queries Related to One Stone Weight Loss

How long does it take to lose one stone.

The time it takes to lose one stone can vary greatly based on factors such as your starting weight, diet, physical activity levels, and metabolism. However, a safe rate of weight loss is generally considered to be 1-2 lbs per week. Thus, it could take anywhere from 7 to 14 weeks to lose one stone.

What diet is best for losing one stone?

There is no "one size fits all" diet for weight loss. The best diet is one that is balanced, nutrient-dense, and sustainable for you in the long term. However, diets that emphasise whole foods and limit processed foods, added sugars, and unhealthy fats can help with weight loss.

Are there exercises specifically to lose one stone?

While there are no exercises specifically to lose one stone, a combination of cardiovascular exercise and strength training can help promote weight loss. Activities like running, swimming, cycling, and brisk walking can help burn calories, while strength training can help build muscle mass, which can increase your metabolism and aid in weight loss.

Concluding Thoughts: Reflecting on One Stone Weight Loss

The overall implications of losing one stone.

Losing one stone has profound implications, both physically and mentally. It can significantly improve health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, enhance body image, and boost self-esteem.

Encouragement for Individuals on Their Weight Loss Journey

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What Five Pounds of Fat Looks Like

A friend of mine was just asking me for advice on the best way to start losing weight.  I recommended they simply start logging their food ( calorie counting ) using the MyFitnessPal app on the phone.  The whole idea is if you simply eat less calories than you burn in a day, overtime slowly but surely you will start dropping the weight.  The smartphone app is even more efficient than the website.  I wouldn’t even have been able to keep my streak up if I didn’t have the app probably.

But anyway, I asked her what her goals are and she said she wanted to lose 10-15 pounds and that she “ lost 5 pounds already but that is negligible. ”  And I was like whoaaaaaaa there!  Five pounds of fat is NOT negligible! If you knew what five pounds of fat looked like, you’d be proud, or maybe throw up! Haha!

So here what “just” FIVE pounds of fat looks like…

So if that’s just 5 pounds of fat… can you imagine how gross 20 pounds, or 50 pounds of fat looks like.

I’ll leave that up to your imagination.  But you may be wondering if 5 pounds is THAT significant-looking, then how does 50lbs of fat even fit in the body!

Well, fat is not just stored around your belly and thighs like a belt.  The sticky fat gets embedded between all your internal organs and that’s known as visceral fat.  This visceral fat is much more dangerous than the cosmetic (subcutaneous; under the skin) version because this “organ fat” is what truly affects your cardiovascular system.

But anyway, back to basics… even if you lose just one pound of fat… look how significant it is!

So how do we lose just one pound of fat a week?

One pound of fat is 3,500 calories.  If you simply eat 500 calories less per day, then in seven days that adds up to a 3,500 calorie deficit and you’d have lost one pound of fat. Fitness is science, not magic. (7 days x 500 calorie deficit = 3,500)

You could also do some exercise that burns 500 calories in an hour, but it’s physically SO much easier to simply eat a little less, than have to vigorously swim laps for one hour straight to create the same 500 calorie deficit.  In reality, it’s best to do a little bit of both.  Eat at a slight deficit everyday and throw in your favorite sport/hobby a few times a week.  And if you feel some hunger, don’t run and immediately get some stupid snack just because you think your body is going to shut down cause you haven’t ate for a couple hours.  Hunger isn’t a bad thing . Think of it as fat leaving the body.

Good luck! Hope that helps!

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Body-Fat Percentage Pictures — Compare Your Body Fat Level

In the Nutrition Setup Guide , I talked about using body-fat percentage to guide your decisions on when to cut, bulk, or recomp (chase simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss while aiming to stay at the same body weight).

(To explain very quickly: when you are either too skinny, carry too much fat, or have too much training experience for a recomp to work or be appropriate, you need to build your physique in cycles of cut and bulk phases. I recommend 10% as the lower boundary to end a cut and 20% as the upper boundary to end a bulk.)

But as I firmly stated, ALL the body-fat measurement methods we have available have horrible inaccuracies on an individual level , and I strongly recommend people avoid trying to gauge progress based on them.

This puts readers in a tricky situation. On the one hand, I’m telling you to use body-fat percentage to guide an important decision. And on the other, I’m saying, “But all the ways of measuring it are flawed!”

So I knew I needed to create a visual guide. Fortunately, I had ten years of client results photos to draw from when creating it. What a wonderful trip down memory lane this has been. If you look closely, you’ll see that nearly all of these guys have both before and after photos included.

Body Fat Percentage – Men

What 7-9% body fat looks like.

Whether you look skinny or ripped at 8% body fat is dependent on you having enough muscle mass. These guys have been training for years, so they can get to this level of leanness and get the ‘fitness model’ look. The lower back fat is mostly gone at this point.

What 10-11% Body Fat Looks Like

See if you can spot the before and after photo pairs of these clients within the article. There are plenty more on the client results page .

What 12-14% Body Fat Looks Like

You can see that even at 14% body fat, if you have enough muscle, a blurry six-pack will show. You might want to get a little leaner than this before bulking, though, so that you can bulk for long enough to put on enough muscle without feeling too fat and needing to cut again.

What 15-17% Body Fat Looks Like

At the 15–17% body fat level, I suggest most clients continue cutting. If you are in a bulk phase and reach this point, you should consider ending your bulk and cutting soon.

What 18-20% Body Fat Looks Like

If you’ve dieted down to this point, that’s fantastic. But if you wish to bulk, you should get leaner first.

If you have been bulking and you’ve got to this point, you should stop bulking and switch to cutting.

What 21-24% Body Fat Looks Like

You can see that Emilio (bottom right) has a little loose skin. This is because he lost a lot of weight before we worked together (~40 lbs), and he did it a little too quickly.

In all but the most extreme cases, the skin comes tight over time and isn’t something you need to worry about. So please don’t get sold on the idea of surgery. Wait for a few months after you finish cutting and you may be pleasantly surprised.

What 25-29% Body Fat Looks Like

What 30%+ Body Fat Looks Like

Some technical definitions define people over 30% body fat as obese. If this describes you, from conversations with clients over the years, it can come to define how you feel about yourself. Try to change that. Instead of thinking of yourself as “fat,” frame it as, “you currently carry too much fat.” This slight change in phrasing can cause a big mental shift that leads to a ripple effect. Don’t let it define you. Take inspiration from others.

All of the individual stories of the clients on this page can be found on the online coaching results page .

Body Fat Percentage – Women

Unfortunately, I cannot make a female version like the male one as I only work with men, so I don’t have the client photos nor experience level. However, I have this guide from our Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Nutrition book, which may be helpful:

Some Caveats

1. I’ve always judged body-fat percentage by eye . I have no way of knowing if the categorizations you will see below are correct, but if you pair this guide with the recommendations on when to bulk vs. cut , it will help guide your decisions.

2. Bear in mind that the more muscle mass you have, the higher your body fat level you will have visible abs at. The guys below all have training experience. You can’t expect to cut and reveal decent abs if you don’t have muscle mass. This may lead you to underestimate your body fat percentage.

3. Most people underestimate their body-fat percentage. If you haven’t cut down to see your abs before and you are trying to estimate how much fat you have to lose, add 50%, and you’re probably closer to the truth.

4. If you’re still unsure after looking at the images , consider using my US Navy Body-fat Percentage Estimation Calculator , which just requires your neck and stomach circumference measurements and height.

5. The guys are all flexing (tensing their muscles).

I don’t recommend you try to gauge your progress based on these pictures; rather, use them to help guide you when to start and end cut, bulk, and recomp phases. Here’s a summary from my related article:

Here’s precisely how I get clients to track physique progress using a tape measure, scale weight, and a few other things.

Body Fat Percentage Pictures FAQ

Your abs will typically start to show between 11-15% body fat, depending on how much muscle mass you have. The less muscle mass you have, the lower your body fat percentage has to be before your abs show. You can see plenty of examples in this guide.

Don’t limit yourself by comparing the body fat percentage of others at your age unless you wish to be average.

It is not possible to calculate body fat percentage, but it is possible to estimate it. All of the available methods are flawed, with error rates of up to 8% in some! I recommend you use this Body Fat Percentage in Pictures guide to compare yourself and combine that with the US Navy Body Fat Calculator , which only needs a tape measure and your weight.

No. See: Do Ab Workouts Burn Belly Fat?

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The Supreme Guide To Body Fat Percentage With Pictures & Charts

This is a comprehensive guide to body fat percentage for fitness enthusiasts.

This guide includes topics ranging from a basic explanation of what body fat percentage is, to how it’s measured, to factors that influence different body fat distribution patterns and MUCH more.

Reading  about all of these topics is great. But it’s not enough. I know you also want to  see  how different people look at different body fat percentages…

…So, I’ve included tons of photos of men and women of all shapes and sizes — all of whom have had their body fat estimated with one of the most accurate body fat testing technologies.

Table of Contents

What Is Body Fat Percentage?

Body fat percentage is the percentage of your total body mass that is made of fat.

So if a 200 pound guy has 20 lbs. of fat on his body, he has 10% body fat (20/200=10%).

The remaining 180 lbs., or 90% of his total body mass (i.e. muscle, bone, organs, water, etc.), is considered his lean body mass (LBM).

Why Is Body Fat Percentage Important?

The lower your body fat percentage is, the leaner you are.

The higher your body fat percentage, the fatter you are. After a certain threshold (around 25-30% body fat for men, 30-35% for women), it starts to become unhealthy.

If your goal is to get lean, tracking body fat percentage over time provides valuable data that you can use to reach your goal faster.

Tracking body fat is better than tracking only your body weight…

…Why? Because losing, let’s say, 20 lbs of body weight does not necessarily mean you lost 20 lbs of body fat. Some of that weight loss could be from water, muscle glycogen and/or muscle tissue. And it should go without saying that you want to keep as much muscle as possible.

Similarly, if you’re trying to bulk up and build muscle, you shouldn’t just track your body weight. If you gain weight for the sake of seeing the number on the scale go up, you’re bound to put on an excessive amount of body fat.

Tracking your body fat in addition to body weight will help to minimize fat gains as you bulk.

How to Measure & Track Your Body Fat Percentage

There are several ways to measure your body fat, but not all are created equal.

None of the methods are 100% accurate, but some are far superior to others. Unfortunately, the best methods will cost you a bit of money and time to go to an appointment, but it’s worth it if the option is available to you.

Below, I’ll list, describe and review the pros and cons of all available body fat testing methods.

DEXA (Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry), or DXA, scans are arguably one of the top two most accurate body fat testing modalities available to the general public.

It’s rivaled only by hydrostatic weighing, which I’ll discuss in the section below. Although the hydrostatic method  may  be slightly more accurate in some situations, it is much more logistically difficult to carry out compared to the ~7 minutes of lying on a table that’s required for a DEXA scan.

DEXA machines are typically used by radiologists to analyze bone mineral density in patients who are experiencing, or at risk for, bone loss conditions (e.g. osteoporosis).

However, these machines are also capable of detecting fat mass and lean mass (note: lean mass for DEXA scans includes everything except bone mineral weight and fat mass [i.e. muscle, organs, water and waste]).

Unlike other testing methods, the body fat data in DEXA scans isn’t limited to just subcutaneous fat (fat under skin and atop muscles). DEXA scan results also include estimates of visceral fat (fat around organs) and intramuscular fat (fat within muscles like the marbling in a steak). Other testing methods either estimate these values or do not include them at all.

If that wasn’t thorough enough for you, DEXA scans go even further by providing a breakdown of your body composition by body region. The scan results tell you the mass and corresponding percentages of fat, lean mass and bone in each of the following segments of your body:

• Left/right arms
• Left/right legs
• Left/right trunk (i.e. rib cage region)
• Android (i.e. lower abdomen region)
• Gynoid (i.e. pelvic region)

So, DEXA scan reports don’t just give you an overall body composition reading. They show you how your mass is distributed throughout your body, including where you store your fat, and how much lean mass and bone mass is in each body region.

Hydrostatic Weighing

Hydrostatic, or underwater, weighing, is on the same level as, if not slightly better than, DEXA scans when it comes to accuracy.

Both methods have similar error rates when measuring individuals. Despite their error rates making them less than perfect, they are as good as it gets when it comes to accessible body fat testing methods.

So how does hydrostatic weighing work?

Hydrostatic weighing involves submerging an individual into a water tank and onto an underwater scale. The test administrator measures how much water their body displaces and how much they weigh under water.

It’s important that the test subject eliminates all air from his lungs, as well as any air trapped in his swimsuits or hair. Air changes how much water is displaced, so having excess air in or on the body will reduce the accuracy of the test.

The amount of water displaced is equivalent to the test subject’s body volume. The subject’s underwater weight is put into an equation along with his body volume and out-of-water weight, to calculate body density.

Body density can then be used to calculate an estimated body fat percentage.

The major drawback of hydrostatic weighing, however, is that it’s not the easiest or most convenient process. You have to get into a swimsuit, get dunked in water, exhale all the air out of your lungs and hold your breath until the test administrator gets a good reading…

…So while hydrostatic weighing may be slightly more accurate than DEXA, it requires a lot more time and effort on the part of the test subject. It also does not provide a report that gives a detailed breakdown of body composition by body region.

The Bod Pod is the name of the only commercially sold air displacement plethysmograph on the market for testing body fat percentage in adults (if you happen to be an infant, you’d use the Pea Pod ® to measure your body fat )…

…What’s that, you say? You don’t know what an air displacement plethysmograph is?! Fine, I’ll tell you. 😀 It’s an instrument that measures body volume based on how much air it displaces.

Specifically, the Bod Pod is a large, egg-shaped capsule. It has two chambers inside of it, which are divided by a seat that extends up into a wall.

The test subject sits down in the seat in the main chamber, wearing a bathing suit or underwear, and a swim cap to keep their hair down.

The Bod Pod also has a scale built into it to measure body mass.

The capsule door is sealed. Then a diaphragm mechanism between the two chambers moves back and forth multiple times, creating an equal, but inverse change in the chambers’ volumes each time the diaphragm moves.

The volume change in either chamber creates a pressure increase in one, and a corresponding pressure decrease in the other. Sensors detect the magnitudes of the changes in pressure in the chambers, which is then used to measure the volume of the main chamber with the subject inside. Body volume is calculated by subtracting the new chamber volume from the original main chamber volume.

Body density is then calculated by dividing body mass (as measured using the built-in scale) by body volume.

The body density figure can then be plugged into an equation to estimate body fat percentage.

So, it is similar in concept to hydrostatic weighing, which involves measuring body volume by water displacement. Unfortunately, however, the Bod Pod is not nearly as accurate as hydrostatic weighing.

This stems from the fact that, compared to hydrostatic weighing, there are several more variables at play that can throw off Bod Pod measurements; namely, breathing pattern, body temperature, humidity, facial hair and tightness of the swimsuit/compression underwear.

Despite its shortcomings compared to hydrostatic weighing and DEXA scans, the Bod Pod is still significantly more accurate and consistent than the methods I’ll be discussing below (i.e. calipers, tape measurement/calculator, BIA scales)…

…In other words, it’s the worst of the best methods.

Skinfold Testing with Calipers

Skinfold testing involves pinching the subcutaneous fat through the skin to form a “skinfold,” and then pulling it away from the muscle to measure its thickness with calipers.

Skinfold measurements are taken at multiple points on the body. The specific skinfold sites depend on the method used to predict body fat, and the sex of the person being tested.

For example, here are the different skinfold sites for the three most commonly used skinfold testing methods:

Below is an excellent video demonstrating how to measure any of the 7 skinfold sites.

Note: There is a slight variation between how to measure the chest skinfold on men vs. women. As explained in this video , males should take the skinfold halfway between their armpit and nipple; whereas women should take it closer to their armpit.

The accuracy of calipers depends a great deal on whether or not the measurements are taken correctly.

How do you make sure your skinfold measurements are taken the right way?

For starters, the measurements should be taken by someone else, if possible. Ideally, this person should be a professional with experience administering this type of test.

However, even in this best case scenario, skinfold tests have a significant margin of error for estimating body fat. The main reasons for this – aside from the test administrator’s skill – are as follows:

• The commonly used Jackson-Pollock equation is a prediction of body fat percentage based on hydrostatic weighing. However, hydrostatic weighing itself is a prediction that comes with it own margin of error. Therefore, there is a compounding of margins of error on caliper tests that could potentially produce a large discrepancy between estimated and actual body fat percentage.
• Jackson and Pollock, who published their skinfold equations in 1978, used a demographic of  non-obese  subjects for their research. This made sense at the time because obesity was uncommon at that time. However, in the fatter world we live in today, their equations may not be the best fit for everyone (pun intended). The equations were based on a quadratic model, which worked just fine for the non-obese demographic characteristic of participants. However, evidence shows that as skinfold measurements increase, the quadratic-based equations become less accurate. Researchers have developed a modified equation based on an exponential model that seems to have greater accuracy for obese populations.  1) It’s also worth nothing that the demographic in the 1978 study was all or mostly white, meaning that the equation may be inaccurate for different races/ethnicities. I’ll discuss the relationship between race/ethnicity and body fat later in this article.

If you want to do a skinfold caliper test, all you need to do is:

• Decide which skinfold test you’re going to do (i.e. 3-point, 4-point or 7-point, as discussed earlier).
• Take the skinfold measurements and record them.
• Plug the measurement values into the calculator on this website .
• Keep in mind that this, like most other body fat testing methods, can vary significantly for individuals.

Circumference Method

The circumference method involves measuring the circumferences of a few key body parts with a tape measure.

These measurements, along with your height, are plugged into an equation to estimate body fat percentage.

There are actually a few different circumference methods/equations that have been created over the years. However, for this article, I’ll focus on one of the better-known equations: the U.S. Navy Circumference Method .

Specifically, the measurements include:

• Height: Most people already know their height from going to the doctor. But if you don’t, then up straight, with your heels, butt and back against a wall. Measure barefoot.
• Weight: Weigh yourself to the nearest pound.
• Waist circumference: Measure around your torso at belly button level.
• Neck circumference:  Measure below the Adam’s apple on the front of the neck and just a bit higher on the back of the neck; from a side view, the tape should be angled slightly downward from back to front.
• Hips circumference (women only):  Measure hips/butt area at the fullest point.

For the most accurate and consistent results, follow these guidelines:

• Wrap the tape snugly, but not tightly: For all circumference measurements, make sure the tape makes contact with the body along all points, but is not so tight that it squeezed into the body and produces an inaccurately low reading.
• Use imperial units of measurement (i.e. pounds and inches):  If you only have a metric (i.e. kilograms and centimeters) body scale or tape measure, then you’ll have to convert your measurements to pounds and inches.
• Consistent measurement timing: Take all measurements at the same time of day every time you do the test. Preferably, this would be in the morning upon waking – after using the restroom and before eating. Certainly, do not measure after eating a large meal or after a workout
• Measure multiple times: Cycle through all the measurements 2 or 3 times (i.e. weight, waist, neck, repeat) and take the average of each.

The Circumference Method Equation

As I noted earlier, these equations only work with measurements taken in inches.

As per this instructional document from the US military, below are the equations for estimating body fat percentage using the circumference method:

Equation For Men

Body fat % = [86.010 x Log10 (waist – neck)] – [70.041 x Log10 (height)] + 36.76

Equation For Women

Body fat % = [163.205 x Log10 (waist + hip – neck)] – [97.684 x Log10 (height)] – 78.387

If you don’t feel like whippin’ out your scientific calculator (I don’t blame you), then you can simply plug your measurements into an online calculator like this one …

…Or you can reference the tables I made, below:

Navy Body Fat Test Table For Males

Click image below to enlarge:

Navy Body Fat Test Table For Females

The circumference method shares some key similarities with skinfold testing. Specifically, both methods are:

• Relatively easy to perform
• Based on anthropometry (i.e. based on measurements and proportions of different parts of the body)
• Not very reliable for accurately tracking body fat percentage on an individual level  (though they’re decent on a population level)…

However, they differ somewhat in at least one important category:  accuracy .

A close examination of the accuracy of circumference testing vs. that of skinfold testing reveals that the circumference method is the least accurate of the two. 2)

And as I discussed in the previous section, the skinfold method itself is not very accurate to begin with.

The relative inaccuracy of the circumference method is even more apparent for muscular individuals. If you’re on this website, chances are that you fall into this group (or will fall into this group in the future). 3)

Despite all the negatives of the circumference method, it actually has some significant redeeming merits that make it an effective tracking tool in the right context.

Specifically, if measurements are done correctly and consistently with enough time between tests, you’ll be able to see if you’re losing fat over time simply based on whether your body weight and circumference measurements are getting lower.

I’d argue that anyone wanting to track body composition changes should take circumference measurements periodically – even people who are doing DEXA or hydrostatic weighing.

However, it’s not necessary to plug the measurements into an equation to get a percentage, since it may very return a value that’s way off. Simply knowing the general trend in circumference measurements changes over time is enough to let you know if you’re on the right track.

NOTE: I recommend also tracking the circumferences of other major body parts besides the waist, neck and hips. Ideally, you would also measure your legs [mid-thigh], biceps, forearm, chest, shoulders and calves. Seeing how all this data changes over time can provide great insight into your body composition changes, and overall progress – Plus it’s great for motivation!

BIA scales are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to methods for measuring body fat percentage.

However, I’ll still give you an overview on them – and tell you why they (mostly) suck.

So, what exactly are these BIA scales and how are they supposed to work? Glad ya asked…

…BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) scales use electrodes to transfer a very low-level electrical current through the skin and into the underlying body tissue.

The sensors then measure how much the body tissues resist the current. This data is used to estimate the total amount of water in the body, which in turn is used to estimate fat free mass, and by extension, body fat percentage.

You’ll most commonly see the relatively inexpensive commercial versions of the BIA scale. They come in the form of a handheld device, or the technology may be built into a digital bathroom scales. These consumer-grade products also happen to be the most inaccurate types of BIA scales.

There are more accurate, and much more expensive types of, BIA scales. But those are usually only found in clinical settings.

These higher quality, clinical BIA scales do have some merit. However, they are not practical – Even though they would be more accurate than a consumer-grade BIA scale for estimating body fat on an individual basis, they’re still not accurate enough to justify the time or cost involved in getting access to one…

…They are really only useful for things such as tracking group averages in clinical research when better options (e.g. DEXA, hydrostatic, BodPod) are unavailable.

So while clinical-grade BIA scales have some use for tracking group body fat averages in research, you could make a persuasive argument that the cheap consumer BIA scales are totally useless for group tracking, and especially for individual tracking.f

ABCs of Body Fat Measurement: A lways B e C onsistent

When tracking body fat, taking consistent measurements is what matters.

That is, from a practical standpoint, it doesn’t matter if your body fat testing method precisely measures your true physiological body fat percentage. (As a side note, knowing your true body fat percentage would only be possible if someone could physically separate all of your fat from your body and weigh it).

Rather, what’s important is that your body fat testing method can detect change over time, even if the percentages it calculates each time are wrong.

Of course, the more accurate testing methods are generally more consistent. However, the point is to do everything you can to keep measurements consistent, no matter which test you’re doing.

In other words, control your variables!

The variables that can affect your results are different for each testing method, but there’s a lot of overlap. Below, I’ll describe how to control for some of the most common variables:

• Use the same testing method each time (e.g. Don’t jump from skinfold testing to DEXA to Bod Pod)
• Have the test performed the same way each time (e.g. using the same machine and facility for DEXA/hydrostatic/Bod Pod, having the same person use the same calipers in the same way for skinfold testing)
• Do the test at the same time of day with approx the same amount of food in your stomach (e.g. in the morning on an empty stomach)
• Do the test on a typical day (e.g. not after a night of drinking, or after a major day of cheat meals)
• Do the test before working out for the day
• Wear the same clothes/swimming trunks (this applies to DEXA/hydrostatic/Bod Pod testing)
• Avoid big shifts in water weight (this could be caused by a number of things: consuming a lot more/less sodium than usual; having a lot more/less caffeine than usual; drinking a lot more/less water than usual; menstruating)
• For any of the non-clinical/at-home methods that require inputting your body weight, make sure you use the same scale each time

Don’t Get Too Caught Up On The Number

Among the fitness crowd, it’s common for someone to at least somewhat-arbitrarily guess what their own body fat percentage is.

They get this number in their head, and they cling to it. At some level, they may even begin to identify with it.

Once they actually get their body fat professionally tested, the results are often higher than they expected. Whether this is because they underestimated their own body fat or because the test was inaccurate, is irrelevant.

Predictably, they are surprised and discouraged because they were so attached to being at some arbitrary percentage…

…What’s unfortunate is that they’ll feel this way even if they had been making progress and getting objectively leaner.

This is why it’s important that you:

• Even if you’ve previously been tested using one of the more accurate testing methods (i.e. hydrostatic or DEXA), you still shouldn’t take that number as gospel. Even the most accurate body fat percentage measurement methods have noteworthy margins of error – Hypothetically, you could test at 12% one time, then after losing a few lbs of pure fat, you could test at 15%.
• Use progress pictures/video and observe your physique in the mirror. Using these visual tools, in addition to periodic body fat testing, will give you the best possible idea of if, and how much, your body composition is changing over time .

Ideal Body Fat Percentage

There is no single “ideal” body fat percentage for every person.

Your ideal body fat percentage depends largely on these three factors:

• Physique goal/fitness level

Male vs. Female: How Sex Affects Ideal Body Fat Percentage

Women require more body fat than men.

They need this extra body fat for production of the key female sex hormone, estrogen, which is necessary for reproductive function (as well as bone formation and other functions).

In a 2000 study, researchers Gallagher et al. created the groundwork for a method of to determine normal vs. overweight vs. obese body fat percentage ranges. They did this by coming up with equations to estimate body fat ranges that correspond to the BMI ranges established by the World Health Organization…

…While BMI is very accurate for estimating body fat on a population level, it can be highly inaccurate on an individual basis (e.g. muscular bodybuilders with low body fat percentages may be classified as overweight or obese using BMI). Whereas, body fat percentage guidelines are much more useful for individuals.

According to the Gallagher et al. study, a normal/healthy body fat range for a younger adult female (ages 20-39) is 21-33%, with 33-39% considered overweight and anything over 39% classified as obese. 4)

For younger adult males (ages 20-39), the healthy range is 8-20%, 20-25% is considered overweight and anything exceeding 25% falls under the obesity category. 5)

NOTE:  As I’ll discuss in the next section, the ranges for healthy, overweight and obese body fat percentages increases as age increases. Additionally, the body fat percentage ranges given above are based on black and white individually, however, I should note that the percentages change slightly for every race (I’ll talk more about race/ethnicity later on).

How Age Affects Ideal Body Fat Percentage

In the previous section, I touched upon how age affects ideal body fat percentage. To review:

• Women between 20-40 years of age are considered to have a healthy body fat if they are within the range 21-33%. Whereas, women over 40 have a slightly higher healthy range of 23-36% body fat.
• Younger men aged 20 to 40 have a lower healthy body fat range between 8-19%, compared to their over-40 counterparts, whose healthy range is 11-25%.

I created a table below that summarizes this data:

This data raises a question – Why does a higher age mean higher levels of body fat are acceptable?

It’s because as people get older, they accumulate more fat around their organs (i.e. visceral fat) and within their muscles (i.e. intramuscular fat). However, the fat under the skin and over the muscle (i.e. subcutaneous fat) doesn’t necessarily have to increase, though it often does because most people become less active as they age while keeping their same diet habits.

Also, the healthy vs. unhealthy body fat percent ranges shown above take into account the body’s natural tendency to lose lean body mass (i.e. bone and muscle loss) as age progresses. If lean body mass decreases, then body fat makes up a higher percentage of body weight by default…

…However, older individuals can negate or at least significantly slow down this lean mass loss if they stay active and regularly do some form of resistance training (preferably weight training).

How Physique Goal And Fitness Level Affect Ideal Body Fat Percentage

If we’re talking about competitive physique athletes, their ideal body fat will be much lower than that of a non-competitive avid gym-goer. And the gym-goer’s ideal will be lower than the average sedentary office worker, and so on.

Real Life DEXA-Verified Body Fat Percentage Photos

When researching this article, I became annoyed that most other articles on this topic reference photo examples of people at different body fat percentages without any type of verification that they were tested at all, or what type of testing method the percentages are based on…

…Basically, it looks like the commonly referenced body fat guide photo collages found online are based on guesses of body fat percentages.

This wouldn’t be bad if the guesses were accurate. Instead, these popular photo collages tend to consistently underestimate body fat compared to what a DEXA or hydrostatic test would likely show.

Of course, this isn’t intentional and the creators of these body fat photo collages are only trying to help (and they do help; some more than others).

I wouldn’t complain about this if I didn’t have a better alternative.

I took on the tedious task of scouring the Internet for hours looking through bodybuilding and fitness forums, personal blogs and social image sharing sites to find as many verified examples of people who have done DEXA scans and reported their results with pictures.

I have compiled these results in the three slideshows below. The first two are DEXA-verified examples of men, and the last one is of women. I’ve included attribution to the original sources for each set of photos:

Male DEXA Body Fat Percentage Examples – Part 1 of 2

Male DEXA Body Fat Percentage Examples – Part 2 of 2

Female DEXA Body Fat Percentage Examples

Things To Understand When Thinking Of Body Fat Numbers (And Comparing Yourself To Pictures):

Essential body fat & storage body fat.

Body fat can be divided into two sub-categories:

Essential fat

Storage fat.

Essential fat is the minimum amount of fat your body needs to remain healthy and carry out its normal functions. It is stored in and around the organs as a necessary part of their structure and to protect and insulate them them.

The amount of essential body fat differs between men and women. Essential body fat is 3-5% in men, and about 12% in women. 6)

Women require so much more essential fat than men largely because of their reproduction system needs. As you may have guessed, this is related to why women have more fat in their breasts, hips and thighs.

Storage fat includes all other fat in the body. Here’s the breakdown of storage fat:

• Most of it subcutaneous fat, which accumulates under the skin and over the muscles.
• Some of it is intramuscular fat, which is within muscle like in marbled meat.
• And some more of it is [storage] visceral fat, which is located around the organs. (NOTE: some essential fat is also visceral fat. However, storage visceral fat refers to any amount of visceral fat in excess of the limited amount of essential visceral fat).

Body Fat Distribution

Body fat distribution refers to where your body prioritizes fat storage.

Fat loss works on a first in, last out basis – That is, the first place you gain fat is the last place you lose it. This is why you’ll often hear people talking about their “stubborn” areas.

So, let’s say you’re a guy whose body prioritizes fat gain on lower abs. If you’re dieting down for a bodybuilding or physique competition, then the last little bit of fat you’ll lose before you’re competition-ready will be from the lower abs region.

The biggest factors determining your body fat distribution pattern are your sex, ethnicity and age.

Male vs. Female Body Fat Distribution

Women store more of their fat in their hips, butt, thighs and breasts. This is referred to as a gynoid fat distribution pattern , which lends itself to a more pear-shaped  body.

Whereas, men tend to store fat more centrally on their body, specifically in the abdominal region. This is known as an android fat distribution pattern , which gives the body a more apple-shaped silhouette.

That said, body fat distribution can vary from person to person within each sex, at least to an extent.

For example, compared to the average male, some men might carry more fat in their lower body relative to their gut.

This is why some guys can have a relatively high body fat percentage yet still have a faint six-pack. Whereas, guys with bodies that prioritize fat gain in the stomach region could look pretty ripped in a loose shirt, yet they’d be sporting a slight belly if they went shirtless.

Conversely, some women deviate from the average female fat distribution pattern. That is, they may have less fat from the hips down, and more fat in the midsection.

Ethnic Differences in Body Fat Distribution

Research suggests that the following are basic differences between ethnicities/races.

In this section, I’ll try to give very brief summaries of the ethnic body fat differences, and include a screenshot of supplemental text from the book to give additional information.

Compared to white women, Hispanic women tend to hold more fat in their trunk than peripherally 7) As indicated in the excerpts below, there is some evidence indicating that Hispanic men may also have a centralized fat distribution pattern, though the research is not conclusive:

African Americans

Compared to Caucasians, African Americans tend to carry more fat in the trunk and less in the arms and legs. See the excerpts below from the Encyclopedia of Obesity for more on African American body fat distribution.

Additionally, African Americans tend to carry more fat on the rear and side parts of their body. 8)

Compared to other races, Asians tend to hold more fat centrally in their trunk region, with a relatively large portion of this being visceral fat.

NOTE: It’s important to note that research also shows that body fat distribution is affected by environmental and behavioral factors such as stress, alcohol consumption and smoking. Specifically, these factors are associated with an android fat distribution as well as increased visceral fat, both of which likely play a role in many health problems.

Other Factors Affecting Body Fat Distribution Pattern

I’ve already discussed the two biggest factors determining body fat distribution patterns: sex and ethnicity/race.

However, there are other notable factors that affect fat patterning. I’ll mention these, but I won’t go in-depth on them for this article:

• Age: As we get older, our bodies tend to shift body fat storage toward the trunk and upper body, and away from the lower body. 9) This shift toward a more central body fat distribution is largely due an increase in visceral (i.e. intra-abdominal) fat accumulation. 10   11)   12) It is less clear whether there is also a disproportionately high increase in central subcutaneous fat accumulation. 13)  In women, there is a big jump in intra-abdominal fat during menopause. 14)   15) In men, the age-related intra-abdominal fat increase is more gradual in its acceleration. 16)
• Physical Activity: Evidence suggests that higher levels of physical activity causes a greater reduction in intra-abdominal fat, resulting in a less centralized body fat distribution. 17)   18)   19) In particular, high intensity physical activity has been shown reduce intra-abdominal fat/central adiposity significantly more than lower intensity activity. 20)   21)

Same Body Fat Percentage Looks Different With Different Lean Body Mass

Hypothetically, let’s say there’s a pair of identical twins who share all the same characteristics (including but not limited to: sex, height, body fat percentage, body fat distribution), except one important difference – one of the twins has 40 lbs. more muscle than the other…

…Even though they have identical body fat percentages, the more muscular twin would look leaner.

This is because the muscle “protrudes” somewhat through the layer of fat covering it. This creates contours and a more defined shape compared to the body of the less muscular twin.

It’s important to bear this in mind if you’re ever trying to compare one person’s body fat percentage to your own body fat or to someone else’s.

If nothing else, the ability to minimize the negative visual aesthetics that come from gaining an extra bit of fat is just one more reason to embrace weight training to build muscle .

11 thoughts on “The Supreme Guide To Body Fat Percentage With Pictures & Charts”

This is the best guide to body fat percentage I have seen. Thanks for writing it up!

Awesome work. Thank you for your efforts. It is appreciated.

This is such a good article. I have undergone immersion and Bodypod body fat assessments, each about 6 years and 20 pounds apart. I didn’t mind the hydrostatic measurement, although I expected it to be unpleasant. That said, the Bodypod measurement was much more comfortable.

Let me give your readers one more reason to choose the DEXA scan. My husband and I are the same height, in fact, I may be a tiny bit taller. We’re 5’8”. Nevertheless, I have often been measured as 5’6”. Once when this happened to me, the medical professional said she would love to weigh what I do and she was 5’6. My line of sight flew two inches over her head. It’s just bizarre. My husband is always measured at 5’8”.

When I had the Bodypod body fat assessment, the Bodypod operator also measured my height as 5’6”. I actually asked him if he was certain the measure was properly mounted on the wall. As you know, 2 inches height difference effects the body fat percentages. A DEXA scan would get my height right!

Ultimately, however, I am not sure how much credence I give to the science of body fat. There have been almost no studies where cadavers are dissected into body fat versus lean muscle mass. Also cadavers aren’t properly hydrated and don’t conduct electrical impulse well so it would be very hard to test bioimpedance against dissected cadavers.

All body fat measurements still begin with height weight ratios, a simple measurement that has been shown to be wildly inaccurate. We’ve all known two people who are close to the same height and weight, yet have different bodies. So, unless you have a reason to worry about body fat, just don’t. Instead of focusing on numbers, consider whether your nutrition and exercise contribute to your health. Do your habits maintain and assist in your quality of life? Do they improve your activities of daily living and support your best function? Will they contribute to longevity or decrease your life span?

Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights on body fat testing, Marilyn. You’re right about the importance of asking yourself those types of questions, whether you test body fat or not.

Very well written article. Only one concern… visceral fat is the fat surrounding your organs (more internal). You need to change the article to state subcutaneous fat is the fat you pinch to test with calipers (under calipers section). I believe this was just a typo considering the rest of the article it seems you do in fact understand the different types of fat.

Thanks, Ben! Yes it was a typo, and I appreciate you taking the time to notify me. It’s been updated.

I got my body fat tested today using a dexa scan and then a scale. Dexa showed 31%, scale said 22.6%. I’m 5′ 8″, 141 pounds, so I’m not overweight. Hopefully I can accomplish some body recomposition with weights and HIIT.

Thanks for sharing, Renee!

I got a Dexa, then learned that the body fat % is nothing like we are used to talking about since it includes fat in organs, muscles, etc. Is there some type of correlation factor, or any analysis of what Dexa %’s mean? For example, what is “good” or “athletic” for a woman on a Dexa?

Never done any of the methods above (except navy circumference measuring which puts me around 8.5%, definitely lower than I really am). Any advice on the accuracy of the 3D Fit imager commonly used in commercial gyms? I think it’s paired with a BIA scale, but my experience has been that the system is unreliable.

I lost a lot of fat over the course of a year, and it seemed to think that all the weight lost was muscle. My arms did decrease in circumference… everything did. My abs went from pure flab with 2-2.5 inches of lower belly fat, to well-defined with under an inch on the lower belly. Shoulders have stripes when relaxed, bicep veins showed up, etc. All the visual signs of fat loss and possibly even some muscle gains were evident.

Even though I got stronger and much more defined during this period, the 3D Fit scan said I went up from 19.5% to 20.5% on account of (mostly) muscle loss, estimating that I lost 9.5 lbs of lean mass and only 2lbs fat. Then it told my friend that he lost 5.9lbs of lean mass over a period of 10 minutes from one scan to the next.

Seeing the image it took of me, it wasn’t precise enough to see my facial features, let alone the definition across my body… just a rough shape. Perhaps a superficial 3D scanner with a low-res camera is the REAL bottom of the barrel? I had to laugh that one off. To be fair, I am at the extreme end of height (6′ 6.5″) and my anatomy is a bit abnormal as a result, so maybe that’s throwing it off? Maybe it becomes less reliable at lower bf%? Any thoughts?

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Published on 21 February 2010

Body Fat Percentages And Pictures

On my old blog, I posted a video on the topic of body fat percentage that is still incredibly popular to this day. However, problems some people had with it were:

a) It is a video, not a blog post b) It is too long in length

What I want to do with this post is provide a comprehensive picture gallery of various body fat percentages in men and women. In short, I am providing the video in written form with a few changes and updates.

What is the measurement of body fat percentage?

Put simply, measuring body fat percentage is assessing what percentage of your body is made up of fat. The opposing percentages are organs, water, muscle tissue, etc.

What are the methods of measuring body fat percentage?

There are quite a few methods to measure body fat; the most common ones are the following:

1. Skinfold Measurement (Skin Pinch) 2. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (Handheld/Scale Device) 3. Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA Scan) 4. Height and Circumference Methods (Measurement Collections) 5. Hydrostatic Testing (Underwater Density Test)

Of all these tests, it is the general consensus that the DEXA scan (Pic 1) provides the most accurate results aside from an autopsy. Knowing the exact body fat percentage while living is extremely difficult. There are many cons to the different types of measurements. Water is usually the leading deceiver of body fat readings in all of the methods.

When we look at the error factors of these methods, we see pictures can be used as much as any of the others.

Do we need to know our body fat percentage?

Technically, there is not a need to know our body fat percentage. While our body fat percentage can provide insights into our health status, simply knowing doesn’t do much to change things. Knowing merely provides amusement, motivation, or a harsh dose of reality.

What is the minimum body fat percentage for human beings and how do we decrease it?

Currently, there is no definitive answer for what is essential body fat. Looking at research though, we assume a range of around 5% for men and 12% for women is essential. For hormonal and reproductive reasons, women need to store a higher level of body fat than men. It is thought that 15% is the lowest range a woman should maintain. There is some argument about this, but technically the data isn’t there to conclude if it is body fat or lifestyle/training habits that cause problems. In my personal opinion, I think women should tread lightly trying to maintain body fat levels below 15%.

To decrease body fat, you need to take part in a deficit based program. If you would like more information on this, please refer to The Fat Loss Troubleshoot .

What do different body fat percentages look like?

As discussed, the level of accuracy regarding body fat levels is difficult to determine even with machine use. Still, there is something to be said for using photography to see varying body fat levels at lower levels of body fat. Is it possible to use pictures to estimate body fat percentages? I think it is as relevant as other basic methods. How can we utilize pictures to determine a rough estimate for body fat pictures? See below.

Male Body Fat Percentages by Picture

There are various tell-tale signs of body fat levels for men and women. If we look at the lean body mass of a muscled skeleton and compare it to a human counterpart, how low in body fat they are shows. If you consider the skeleton model to be 0% body fat, then simply look at the male model in the picture above and determine how close they are in relation.

Looking at the diagram above for the male, we see clearly defined chest striations (1), serratus anterior (2), upper abdominals (3), and quadriceps (4). For men, generally speaking, these are the last areas that fat is lost. People generally claim much lower body fat percentage than they should . Look at the percentages below and compare them to the muscled skeleton. You will understand why they are at higher body fat levels than you might have thought.

Female Body Fat Percentages by Picture

Females follow a lot of the same rules as males with a few slight alterations. Lower body fat levels can really be registered by taking notice of their face (1) chest separation, (2) glutes (not shown), iliacus/quads, (3) and breasts (4).

These pictures give you a more accurate look at varying body fat levels and percentages in females.

Does everyone look alike at the same body fat percentage?

No, not at all. Body fat percentage isn’t an indicator of your amount of lean body mass. The amount of muscle your body has is going to make a significant difference in your overall look. What is the right look? This is up to personal preference and program design. This post isn’t about judgment, but more so a definition of the difference between the two.

Take these two males in the picture below. Both are roughly at 10% body fat. As you can see, there is a noticeable difference in their look and muscle composition. Again, this isn’t about judging, but simply stating a noticeable physical difference. The guy on the left has a legitimate 15 more pounds of muscle than the guy on the right.

The same is true for these females below. The one on the left is a fitness competitor and the one on the right is a fashion model. You may or may not like one or the other’s appearance, but that isn’t the point of the comparison. The point is that both have roughly 15% body fat with varying levels of water depletion. As you can see, there is quite a stark difference between the two.

There are also other variables and factors to take into consideration when looking at body composition. One of the main factors is carbohydrate and water manipulation. I discuss in detail how to manipulate both in the Water Manual . Water manipulation or advanced super-compensation techniques can have dramatic differences on your appearance. The 15% woman on the left is likely utilizing those techniques. It is often done by bodybuilders and figure competitors.

Would You Like A Body Fat Percentage Assessment?

As you can see body fat percentages range and methods for measurement vary. You can also see training will greatly affect what you look like at various body fat percentages. Any questions? If you want to know what I think your body fat percentage is, contact me to become a client .

257 comments

Benjamin Teal Log in to Reply

Leigh, as usual, great post. I do like the post format vs. the video format.

I like it in that it gives folks a good visual reference for estimating body fat percentage without going through the process of calipers or underwater weighing (or even using a calculator). Look in the mirror, look at the picture, which one is a close match, estimate, move on. Focus on taking action to move to the next picture down.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Leigh Peele Log in to Reply

Thanks and good point of view.

Taylor Log in to Reply

Awesome article, i used this and cited you on my website. Haven’t come across to many articles with such great before/after photos

http://taylorcarpenter-pt.com/body-fat-vs-the-scale

marco Log in to Reply

I very much enjoyed the addition of explaining the difference between 10% of skinny and 10% of a conditioned body. There is a BIG difference. I also further enjoyed how your article stayed on topic. It did not delve into the superiority of one athletic event over another. What I did not see a mention of, is some indication of work needed to reach these levels. The amounts of bodyfat also involve genetics to a point. Some are gifted in this area, some will have to work at it, while others will see improvements but never reach that level. Thank you for the education and enlightenment.

emily Log in to Reply

EXCUSE ME, but I have a problem with the picture of these women… how come you have put the obese women dressed like hookers?? while the fit women get to wear nice bikini’s and the middle sized women get to wear active clothing???? THIS IS WRONG! All the women should be wearing the same outfit to properly convey an accurate comparison. There is something completely absurd and disturbing about this. As a yoga instructor I come across many different shapes and sizes and more often then not these are not the women prancing around in booty shorts and crop tops.

brandon lewis Log in to Reply

EXCUSE ME, please shut the fuck up… you are ridiculous….

Hector Log in to Reply

I don’t think it is ridiculous, I think the lady has a point, a set of pictures like this tend suggest a diminishing value of women with more than 20% Fat.

A make you fell bad kind of thing if you know what I mean…

Faris Log in to Reply

How come men get to wear no bras and women do? Why are the women wearing a bra unlike men?

Ali Log in to Reply

While I will agree that the leather looking underwear and the red thigh high nylons do look ridiculous, I also don’t think you are understanding the whole point of this article, which is titled, “Body Fat Pictures and Percentages.” Obviously it would be ideal to have the people all in the same outfit. However, that would take time and money and I am assuming this article is for a blog, not for a book. You say that women in your yoga practice of different shapes and sizes do not prance around in booty shorts and crop tops. Of course most women want to dress themselves attractively and in clothing that highlights their attributes and diminishes whatever they perceive their flaws to be. Obviously the author of this article was not going to pick a photo of a women covering up her body to illustrate the concept of body fat percentage. I am assuming that on an everyday basis the photos of the women at 11% and 15% aren’t representing outfits and women at this weight would usually wear. However, they do represent women at that range of body fat. I was trying to determine a goal bodyfat, so this article and the photos are very much appreciated. I am at 29% bodyfat. I was not offended by the 30% bodyfat photo. From this article and a few others I have read, I am able to determine my goal bodyfat is 18%. Oh – and a side note for Emily…”there is something completely absurd and disturbing” about calling any of the women in these photos obese.

Denise poplawski Log in to Reply

You have a great point and I agree with you.

Violet Log in to Reply

You have a valid point.

Jen Log in to Reply

I kind of have a problem with you saying they are dressed as hooked simply because they choose to dress sexy. I say everyone (including the men) should wear lingerie.

Eddie Log in to Reply

Lol. Sure, Emily.

And while we’re at making the pictures equal, we may as well get rid of those role-oppressive bikini tops, since the men are bare-chested. I demand that the women are topless too. For accurate comparison…

Eric Graden Log in to Reply

This is bookmarked and will be used as a reference to so so so many people who have no idea body fat percentege means. Excellent post Leigh, thank you.

Appreciated Eric.

JenBD Log in to Reply

Wow, very cool post! I have been looking for something just like this. Now can we submit our own?

Like I said, you are more than welcome to submit in the forums. I don’t know how much time I have to do it right now to people sending them in but perhaps I could work out a follow-up post.

Becc Log in to Reply

Thanks Leigh, as always very informative. You hear people talk about % all the time but it makes heaps more sense when you have visual aids.

shanice fling Log in to Reply

wooowooowoowoowoowo

Rhys I Log in to Reply

What-Up Leigh! I’ve recently had a sharp wake up call. Whilst on my undergrad using hydrostatic weighing and skinfold i measured around 23%, not great but passable for my goals. Then a few weeks ago on my postgrad we did skinfold again 19%, the tester was reasonably inexperienced so i took it with a pinch of salt but bioelectirical impedance measured me as 24%. Again i can live with this for now because i’ve been training for a weightlifting comp so body comp has not been my goal.

But then we used a DEXA scan. It came out as 36%!!! I weigh 235lbs at 5ft 9inches so thats a good amount of fat on me according to this. Looking at the photos and being very honest with myself i would say i’m between the guy with 20 and 25% BF. I know DEXA is meant to be a reliable test, what do you think about it all? Has been a major blow for me, i don’t mind sitting around 20% But 36% is awful!!!

Well this strongly depends on your training level so let’s look at it like this.

At 5’9 it is typical that the average trainee (a few years of training under their belt, hasn’t been massively sedentary their entire life) to see their abs around 150-155lbs. Like I said this varies depending on trainees but from what I have seen, this is a good base compass. If that is roughly in the area of 9-12% depending on LBM for men…start to do the math of where you are at. Means roughly 70lbs of fat loss till your could get to that point.

This formula comes from Tom Venuto

Example: You are male Your weight: 235 Your body fat: 36% Your fat weight: 84lbs (36% of 235 lbs) Your lean mass: 151 lbs. (total weight – lbs. of fat) Your target body fat percentage: 12% (.12) Determine your percentage of lean mass at your target body fat by subtracting your desired body fat from 1: (1 -.12 = .88) Divide your current lean mass by your percentage of lean mass at your target body fat percentage to yield your ideal weight: (151/.88 = 171 Thus, your ideal weight at 12% body fat is 171 lbs.”

So I stated roughly 70lbs of fat lost to get to a point of possible Abs show. This Formula states based off of the Dexa roughly 64lbs lost to get to 12% body fat.

I say 70lbs is what you are looking at, from there adjust depending on goals (if abdominal showing is even a goal.).

Thanks for that Leigh, interesting stuff. I’ve been training for about 7/8 yrs now and compete in olympic weightlifting so my training age is good. My target has always been strength and performance in rugby, but now i don’t play rugby and just concentrate on the lifting i’m considering giving dieting seriously and focussing on fat loss a go for the first time. Its never been a goal of mine (i think partly because my body type makes it easier to get big and strong than lose weight) but i fancy a change!

Thanks again

MATT Log in to Reply

This was fantastic thanks

Missy Log in to Reply

Thanks, great to have the “condensed” version (but I do like the video!) to refer to! You rock as always!!

Thank ya missy

Erica Log in to Reply

Leigh, were the people pictured in this blog post measured via DEXA scan?

No, the purpose of this post is the discussion and use of body fat estimations by pictures. IN no way is it saying it is a definitive number but it is an educated guess based on the things I demonstrated. Like I said “Of all these tests, it is a general consensus the DEXA scan (pic 1) provides the most accurate results you can achieve beyond doing an autopsy. Knowing the exact body fat percentage while living is very difficult.”

Thanks for clarifying, Leigh. I was wondering because I am 27% body fat according to the BodPod (supposedly very accurate?) and I look far leaner than the 25% picture: I’m a competitive athlete (in a sport with weight classes), no love handles or muffin top, about a size 4 with visible abs and delts. However, according to calipers I am far leaner (less than 17% body fat), so perhaps that is the metric you are using?

Gráinne Log in to Reply

I’m not an expert…but looked into BodPod before. Apparently it can be made inaccurate easily enough by clothing etc-if your swimsuit isn’t completely skintight or if the cap doesn’t squeeze all the air out of your hair and get it completely flat it can overread because it’s being based on air displacement. I tend to trust calipers if they’re being done by somebody experienced. I got one of my friends (an exercise physiologist who does fitness assessments all the time) to test me 2 weeks after I had a Dexa. Didn’t tell him result when he was testing. He was within 1%!

I was wearing special compression garments + swim cap.

Amy Log in to Reply

Thanks! I do like this format better than the videos, and will be using the article to help me reach and assess my short-term BF goal of 20%…Great job, as always!

Welcome Amy.

Ginger Log in to Reply

Thanks Leigh! This makes it easier to ne clear about what my goals and starting point are. It seems that the way someone looks is an intersection between how much muscle mass one has and body fat percentage. I wish that we could develop some common language to describe how much muscle one is carrying like 0 = little to no muscle bulk like the skinny guy/girl in the comparison pictures, 10 is a hyooge body builder, etc. Then we could put bf% on the x axis and muscle bulk on the y and plot the pictures…. Okay I’m getting a little dorky.

Actually I am working on a terminology and formula for these things to help for the Make My body Release.

Erikk Log in to Reply

There is no w3ay you can be correct with this estimations, they are way to high. I got my body fat measured by a professional trainer and it said 10% and I don’t have ab definition yet.

Erik I have to agree with CanneW and also state this professional trainers can be very wrong about body fat estimations. I know in the beginning I certainly was with my skinfold usage.

Karen Log in to Reply

Great post!

Liv Log in to Reply

What took you so long 😉

Is it possible for you to do more than just this one? Perhaps a range of male and female from 4% up / 8% up?

Interesting idea, I will see what I can do. It can be tough finding the pictures I need.

andy Log in to Reply

if you are looking for more pictures, try the body space profiles on bodybuilding.com they have tons of people posting their pictures at all different stages of muscle gain and fat loss.

Kri-dgo Log in to Reply

I am sorry but I look way better at my measured 29% than the girl does at 20%. This seems very biased against making women feel fatter. We can’t all be lingere model’s.

Cindy Beverly Log in to Reply

If you had listened to Leigh’s recent podcast and some of her previous ones, you’d realize that she is not making value judgments based on bf %. If you are happy in your skin, then you have arrived. Those of us who aspire to different goals but have not reached them are still on the journey. Personally, I don’t like how I look at 29%, my facial features become obscured and I get back fat. Closer to 20%, My lips look fuller, my nose looks smaller, my cheekbones are nicely defined, and I don’t have any bra bulges on my back. That’s how I like to look. Better for me, but not a requirement for anyone else.

Beyond the great input Cindy has, I also stated that different people look different at different body fat percentages. If you took two female twins and both were at 22% but one had 8 more pounds of LBM they would look very different and the one with more LBM with more than likely appear to be more “toned” and defined at a higher body fat.

kate Log in to Reply

Why would the person with higher LBM appear more ‘toned’ at the same fat percentage? Wouldn’t they have more fat as well and just be bigger but with the same level of definition. When I look at the girl at 25% body for example, she looks thin but sort of flabby. She may well be closer to 30% body fat with low LBM.

When I look at the comparison of the two women supposedly both at 15%, the one on the left looks somewhere between your example of 11% and 15% body fat, but the one on the right looks between the 18% and 20% body fat pics.

Think of your skin as a bed sheet. If you lay a bed sheet on bed with a couple of peas you will barely notice a difference or the peas presence. If you lay the bed sheet over mounds of potatoes you will see a noticeable change in mass shape. The sheet did not get thinner or change in its size, nor did the mattress it rests on. The potatoes (muscle) is the only thing that changed, there for providing different definition on the same surface.

The 15% woman is not the same at all. She is soft in her legs and doesn’t have noticeable chest separation even flexing. There are various other reasons as well. These are small difference, but differences they are.

I’m still a bit confused, if two women are at the same fat percentage but one has more LBM won’t they also have proportionately more fat on them..so the sheet thickness doesn’t change, but won’t the mattress (fat layer) be slightly thicker?

Example, woman at 120lb and 20% body fat has 24lb of fat plus 96lb of LBM. Woman at 130lb and 20% body fat has 26lb of fat and 104lb of lean mass. I realise most of the weight difference is due to the increase in muscle mass, but even just 2lb of extra fat should maintain the same level of definition right?

Sorry if I sound whiney and nitpicky lol, but just curious and would like to understand better.

I. G. Log in to Reply

I would love if Kate´s question from February 26, 2010 would be answered because it is very relevant. It doesn´t convince me as well that 15% body fat makes one woman look ripped just because she weights more and thus has more muscle mass and another one totally different just because whe weights less. Body fat percentage is a RELATIVE number which means she necessarily has more fat as well to reach the same PERCENTAGE if she is at a heigher weight. It means that the matress above the peas/potatoes (Leigh Peele´s example) is just as thick in relation to her muscle mass. If the fat layer was thinner she was at a lower body fat PERCENTAGE!

Veronica Log in to Reply

Considering the numbers you gave, and assuming they have the same lean mass, yes the 130lbs female has 2lbs more fat, but she also has 8lbs more muscle. When you add 4x as muscle than you add fat, it more than makes up for the size difference between a pound of muscle vs a pound of fat.

But what gets confusing is when you take into account height. The taller person will have more lean mass, less muscle, and the same amount of fat as someone with the same body fat percentage and weight at a shorter height. And they will look different. Heck, throw in bone structure, and people the same height will look different at the same bf%.

So it is best to consider the same person, not different people when making comparisons because there are way too many variables.

cannew Log in to Reply

erikk – no offense… but if you don’t have any abs at 10% then either 1. you are really higher than 10% body fat or 2. you need to train your abs harder to show the muscle definition (like the skinny guy in the pix above).

Tony Difilipo Log in to Reply

Quick question…..with regards to the pictures of the male at around 3-4 percent and the female at around 8-9 percent, do those numbers include the roughly 3 percent (at least I think that is about accurate) essential fat that is part of the make-up of the CNS?

On a side note, given your comment about photos as a potentially valid method of tracking progress (along with other metrics and methods of tracking that you can use along with it), would you say that the product in the following link is likely overrated and very over-priced fro someone training clients (a mix of general population, sporting athletes, and physique competitors?

http://intelametrix.com/Technology/Index.htm

http://www.staleytraining.com/articles/product-reviews/bodymetrix-review.htm

Note: I linked to Coach Staley’s website review not to create any sort of friction, but merely because the review posted a price range for the item, which was not listed directly on the Intelametrix website.

What I am speaking of is levels of subcutaneous fat.

As for the device, there is absolutely no need for something like that. Why? What purpose would something like that serve other than novelty ya know? My clients get way more impressed when I use their own photos and numbers to help deliver a more than accurate enough number for tracking and goals.

I think if you have to rely on something like that, you are reaching for results instead of seeing them.

Kyle Log in to Reply

haha I look exactly like the scrawny 10%-er. Time to keep working on bulking up!

MV Log in to Reply

love your posts and podcasts and the fitcast! I’m curious, I think I may actually be estimating my body fat percentage too high! I thought I was around 22-24% but I look way more like that 18%-20%. Is it possible for you to post a few more photos in that range of more muscular women? the women in the 18 and 20 look still pretty low-muscle to me. Thanks so much for all your work! You’ve definitely given me a new unemotional outlook on fat loss.

After putting up this post I have received more request of varying body fat/lbm levels. It should (hopefully) be up within the next two weeks.

Let us know if you need more photos! 🙂

Covermea Log in to Reply

I love this post Leigh. I actually enjoyed the video too, I am surprise that you compacted all that information into this article.

Laura Log in to Reply

That was a most interesting post. I really liked seeing the visual difference between bodies and corresponding it with the numbers.

I like the 18% female – I’m making that my goal once I get off the Synthyroid and onto the dessicated thyroid. I think that will make a difference along with your plan.

Thanks Leigh. You Rock..

Daniel Log in to Reply

Leigh, I would love a gallery of picture with various amounts of body fat and muscle mass. I greatly appreciate what you have done here giving visual examples, but as the 10 % pics of skinny guy and track guy show there is alot of variance. Thanks for all you do

Ginger Hodge Log in to Reply

Leigh, I went back and read your realistic goal setting posts- I found a place that suggests how fast one can gain muscle, but not how fast one could expect to lose fat. Is this somewhere, and if not could you give some recommendations on timeframe when setting fat loss goals, either by pounds or percentages? I would also like to know possible side effects on the body when comparing a slow and steady or rapid fat loss route. Thanks for all of your great info! You have finally brought me around to the reality of energy balance and I’ ready to get something done! Thanks.

Hi Leigh…another great post! Thank you! I just read your TroubleShoot in 1 day…loved it. But I was left wondering can I safely have a large deficit if re-feeding days are incorporated every week? I have trouble eating enough to keep my deficit below 1000 daily, and exercising less just seems counter intuitive. I recently came across this statement on a random website, which i’m sure is not the most reliable resource, but I thought that it could potentially make some sense!

“It has been found in scientific work that a sedentary person can oxidize 31 calories from adipose tissue every 24 hours. This means that the more fat you carry, the larger your deficit can be, without catabolized non-fatty tissues (muscle).”

If this were true, then at 5′-6″ and 205lbs, having about 80 lbs of fat to lose, my deficit could safely be 2480??!! Now I know THAT doesn’t make sense, but would you say that the more body fat you have to lose, the greater your deficit can be daily without eating away prescious lean tissue?? I generally have a fairly high deficit (between 1600-1000) during the week, with a surplus/maintenance on weekends, and I am having big time trouble losing anything, so i’m assuming the answer is my deficit is too high. The OPT program sounds great, but i’m not sure such a structured program will last long with me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated…thank you!!

summerset Log in to Reply

Laura, your problem could also lie in overestimating your maintenance and therefore overeating on the weekends which would cancel out the deficit you created during the week. Instead of the entire weekend on higher caloric intake, try one day at maintenance. Look at the overall picture and not just the day to day. You have to have the 3500 calorie deficit from somewhere to get the fat off, but you can easily put that back on with one big splurge day. One pound down, 2 lbs up, repeat. That is more of a maintenance plan and not a fat loss plan. And yes, the more fat you have to lose the bigger your deficit can be.

Thanks for that Summerset…I will be more careful on weekends..perhaps i’m underestimating my calories there! Do you know if there is a formula or some way of estimating a safe daily caloric deficit depending on how much fat you have to lose? Thanks so much!

There is no such thing as a “safe’ caloric deficit amount. It varies on protein intake, length of time, training, goals, health, etc. To put it simply each person has a different “breaking” point and what that point is. If you don’t know how to maximize that or don’t read the literature to know how to do so, going with the standard tried and true methods are often best.

That being said these topics are discussed a lot on the blog and in podcasts, as well as in the books.

Carrie Gray Log in to Reply

Loved this post, thanks so much! I never saw the video, but having these pictures is going to be a huge help in determining what I want my end goals to be.

Thanks Carrie

Brooke Log in to Reply

Thank god I am not the only one who agrees that these are extremly wrong estimates. I think I will trust the NY times over some no name with a blog who thinks they no it all. Get a life and a better job. I have been training for years and your estimates tell me I am overweight, I don’t think so.

Brooke, I don’t know who you are calling a no-name, but they love me in sweden.

Chris Log in to Reply

That’s a smart decision on your part Brooke since we all “know” (please notice the correct spelling of such a tricky word) that there is no deception or misleading information to be found in the media. Kudos to you!

The bigger question is why would you, Brooke, take the time to respond to a no-name blog? Who asked for your opinion? Who is forcing you to read this blog? Personally, I find the info helpful, and presented in a way that makes sense.

And, remember: At the end of the day, it depends.

April Log in to Reply

You are so good at explaining things. Keep it coming!

Thanks April.

Doug Log in to Reply

What about the body types(endo, meso, and ectomorph)? You differentiate between people of the same body fat percentage with a visual difference by saying one has more or less muscle. While this is true how we will look with different levels of fat depends on our genetically determined body type also. I think it would be interesting to see the different body types at high and low fat levels.

Somatotyping, while an interesting theory for topic of conversation, doesn’t play into factors or how you carry body fat as much as how you manage and partition. Sure, you could make an argument that the 10% athlete is a Meso and the tall skinny guy is an Ecto, but that comes into play if you are discussing potential dieting strategies. Somatotyping, to me, is as much psychological and environmental as it is stamped in genetics. My longwinded point is I would much rather discuss Somatotyping on its own than just in relation to this post.

Gayle Log in to Reply

it was so timely for me to read your article. I am a female who has been overweight most of my life until the last 4 to 5 years. I have lost 45 lbs. Through discovering exercise and FINALLY eating right. Thing is I lift weghts 3-4 days week regularly and do Cardio daily . I am 57 and weigh 125 Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day with good raitos YADA YADA I exercise at least 2 hrs a day Hard.{ I do Chalene Extreme and INSANITY Daily} YET I know you do not mention body fat scales[I have 2 different ones one at summer house} but mine NEVER gives me a reading below 30%. I look like your picture of the 20% or belowpicture WHATS up with that?

Body Fat Scales depend a lot of water fluctuations because of how they measure electro movements. It seems to me you are likely leading to the side of overtraining as well, which could cause increase in inflammation. Inflammation=more water=less accurate reading than you already get.

Krista Log in to Reply

Thanks for this, Leigh….

DEXA measured me at 24% body fat and I look closest to the 20% body fat example (female). Maybe some of the differences lie in fat distsribution patterns plus how much fat is subcutaneous versus internal or intramuscular.

Clara Log in to Reply

Excellent! This is a great guide that I can shoot clients over to help get some better understanding of what body comp means. Best shots are the ones showing how one person at a given bf% doesn’t automatically mean another person at the same percentage matches.

Lindsey Mathews Log in to Reply

Brooke – HA HA HA, wow. All I can say. Leigh – Thanks for the great post. It is actually helping me clear up some confusion going in my head about my goals and where I want to be. I think I might just be where I want to be! Isn’t THAT a great revelation?! 🙂

Never a bad thing to figure that out eh? Congrats, not it’s all about paying it forward 😉

Krispy1138 Log in to Reply

This was one of your best, Leigh!

Thanks Krispy!

Excuse me, you people obviously think you are cooler than you are but I am a certified trainer and graduate in health and fitness studies. I think I know more about this than you given it is MY JOB. You should leave these things to professional like trainers and dietitians. Trainers aren’t allowed to use equipment like DEXA scans by the way, this person seems like a con artist. I get stead readings on calipers showing 18% body fat.

My blog is cooler than your blog.

Honey, it’s all of our jobs. You can’t know too much about the big names in the field if you think Leigh Peele is a no name. Just saying.

Haphazard Thoughts 03-03-2010 | Leigh Peele Log in to Reply

[…] have received a tremendous response from the Body Fat Picture article on wanting more examples.  You would be surprised how hard it is to come by people […]

Richie Log in to Reply

Great visual post Leigh!!

I am a certified trainer too, we all have opinions and they may differ a little, but, we are all trying to help the masses achieve their health and weight loss goals, there is no need to be rude Brooke, I will happily look at your blog or website and criticize if you have one???

Flux Capacitor Friday (3/4/10) : KevinLarrabee.com Log in to Reply

[…] (Since Leigh and I are sleeping together I guess I should give her a plug as well. Her recent post on body fat was pretty bad ass. Check it […]

Mickey Log in to Reply

Leigh, Once again…good work…

Brooke, as Richie mentioned we would all love to read your blog and/or website. Or perhaps any articles that have been published in respectable journals or fitness magazines. But unlike you, Leigh probablly won’t resort to calling you a ‘no-name’…I’m sure based off of your highly intelligent posts that contain great supportive data that you will be a household name soon enough! But if I’m incorrect in that assumption, please forgive me…you can always find your name referenced in a book of baby names.

I never do crunches « Fitness Overload Log in to Reply

[…] get some good habits the fat should start to melt off. Once it does get down to a certain level (around 10-12% for a guy and 18% for a girl) any muscle tone in the ab structure will start to show through. As you approach these numbers you […]

R*S Log in to Reply

Just curious on your thoughts of the Navy formula? It seems to be fairly accurate (claims validated by MRI are suppose to be R2: .89, SEE: 3.1%) though not very precises. Not close enough for most 1 week changes, but is dead simple to do. I would guess it is better than calipers for most newbies, and way better than impedance scales.

%fat=495/(1.0324-.19077(log(abdomen-neck)) + .15456(log(height)))-450 (men) %fat = 495/(1.29579-.35004(log(abd+hip-neck))+.22100(log(height)))-450 (women)

January cutting - Page 10 - Myprotein Forum Log in to Reply

[…] Originally Posted by CosmicFish Quick update: I finished my diet today (just after the caliper test was done ). For three months work I've dropped 20lbs of weight, ~15lbs of which seems to be fat. BF% came in at just under 9% – down from just over 16%. The only negative is I still don't have visible abs, althought the beginnings of some definition is visible in the right lighting and I can feel the separation between the abs with my fingers. Overall I'm pleased though. Plan for April is to slowly ramp up the calories to previous maintenance levels for an attempt at a lowish carb lean bulk from May onwards. If I can keep from putting on too much fat I might be in a better position to get leaner with a cut in the mid/late summer. Has anybody else persisted with theirs for this long? I'm curious to hear about other people's results if so. Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't abs be visible at 9% bodyfat? Have a look at this: Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele […]

“I want to lose 15 pounds” « Fitness Overload Log in to Reply

[…] you still aren’t sure this article shows what body fat percentages look like on real […]

do you read leigh peele? | How I Lost 20lbs Log in to Reply

[…] first useful tool I want to introduce is her post on Body Fat Pictures and Percentages. If you have not seen this page before, go now and take a […]

Peter Schwagly Log in to Reply

I just wanted to say thank you for this excellent resource. I’m the owner of Bodycomp Imaging – a body composition assessment company that uses whole body DXA scans. I will be referring many clients to your site that want to gain understanding regarding what various percent fat measurements actually look like. Good work!

Tom's PTC Beginner Journal - Page 11 - Ausbb - Australian BodyBuilding Log in to Reply

[…] out Leigh Peele's body fat pictures and percentages. it should give you a rough idea of what % you are. __________________ 185cm 83kg best lifts- […]

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[…] that everyone interested in controling their own physique should bookmark.  It shows what the different body fat percentages look like for men and women.  It’s always interesting to see what these percentages actually […]

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This is the greatest – time to do something!

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This is the best thing I’ve seen yet, and I’ve been searching all over the web.

Heavy Thoughts | Girl In Motion: A Running Blog Log in to Reply

[…] it “that piece of shit”.  I found some pictures online of what people look like at different bodyfat percentages (scroll down for the ladies), and please, I’m not 24%.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to […]

Mijn bf (en die van mijn vriend)????? - Pagina 2 - Bodynet.nl - Bodybuilding & Fitness discussieforums Log in to Reply

[…] waren gemaakt en de dag erna (junken en dus extra vocht). Dit verschil was immens groot! Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele video! <embed src=" http://blip.tv/play/AdGLbQI&quot ; […]

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[…] search. Meaning they type in something like “body fat pictures” and my blog post about Body Fat Percentage With Pictures pops […]

Fredrik Gyllensten Log in to Reply

Great post, nice to get a visual of how different bodyfat levels look like. I’m shooting for about 8 % myself, that’s a level I would like to keep.

9th TT Transformation Contest: a helluva long post | Clementinho's musings. Log in to Reply

[…] proportions I found in the Adonis Effect programme. I have also derived from Leigh Peele’s wonderful resource on estimating body fat percentages that I am now approximately 16% and aim to be at 7% body fat […]

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[…] Links in this question – Body Fat Visual Estimate Post […]

Greg Log in to Reply

When pictures are used to track body fat progression over time is it best to use pictures of flexed or relaxed muscles?

Around the Fitness Horn … yeah, it’s been awhile! « x lyssa Log in to Reply

[…] Body Fat Pictures and Percentages – very interesting … […]

Roberto Log in to Reply

The girl at 20%, hands down, has the most sexually attractive body. The girl at 18% is still hot, but honestly less attractive. Those two ripped girls are disgusting, I would not want to sleep with either of them, and I’m sure 99% of males reading this would agree. And the two heaviest girls, while less attractive, still have sexually appealing physiques.

Worth keeping in mind for girls who would like bodies that attract the opposite sex, rather than just score points at some weird, narcissistic competition. It’s sad seeing girls struggling to drop body fat and build muscle to an extreme degree. Usually a few extra pounds just makes your boobs look bigger and your ass hotter. Relax.

It’d be interesting to see how girls rate those guy pictures. I’ve no doubt that the muscled skeleton look is not something most women would want lying next to them in bed.

jane Log in to Reply

I am very interested in these posts. I am 36 years old, 5’6″ 133lb and 15.5% body fat via caliper measurement. I was working out (cardio only) one hour five days a week as of about 2.5 months ago but have not been to the gym much since. I have good muscle memory (played sports in high school and college) and am a nurse so I am always on my feet 40 hours a week 8 hours at a stretch. I am wondering if my body composition can be supported somewhat by my activity level at work too even if I am not spending the time at the gym? I am getting back to the gym this week, I was having asthma problems. Things are ok now.

Well, true muscle depletion is due to 1 – lack of movement 2 – lack of nutrition, specifically protein. If protein intake is adequate and you are staying mobile on a constant basis, it is not likely you are going to see a strong depletion of muscle. That being said, you aren’t going to see any real improvement either.

Denise Log in to Reply

The 10% guy most definitely looks the best.

celeste Log in to Reply

I was just wondering it anyone had any pictures of slightly more muscular women at 20% bf? Sort of figure athlete/fitness model type muscle – not bodybuilders.

Reason being that when tested with callipers i come out at 20%, using an electronic device 22% and using the tape measure methods 16%. Looking at the pictures above, i dont have as much fat on me as the 25% picture, but i’ve got more muscle than the 20% picture, on a short, mesomorph type frame – i think 20% is about right; i dont look fat; a bit of seperation in the delts and pecs and some upper abs, but im not super lean either – a bit stocky i guess. Just looking for a similar bodytype picture to compare to if anyone has any…?

Was ist der KFA? >> Ernaehrung & Training.de Log in to Reply

[…] wurden mit freundlicher Erlaubnis verwendet von Leigh Peele. am Montag, den 27. Dezember 2010 um 13:31 Uhr erstellt und ist in der Kategorie Abnehmen zu […]

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[…] Lisaks võite hinnata oma keharasva silma järgi. Võrdlusmaterjali leiate, kui sisetate Google’isse “body fat pictures and percentages”. Üks selline piltidega sait on näiteks siin: Body Fat Pictures And Percentages. […]

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[…] tomorrow) about Body Fat Percentage. That is all I am going to say except that if you like this post, you are going to love the report. And yes, it will be […]

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[…] thing to note is the content level will be extensive. Previous examples are articles like – Body Fat Percentage By Pictures, WTF Can I Eat?, Does Age Hinder Weight Loss and Transformation?, and Defining Bulky (1 & […]

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[…] BF% are you ? Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Just be sure to sort out your AI. People with higher Bf% are more likely to get gyno as you will […]

Body Fat Guestimations « Bradley Simpson Log in to Reply

[…] If you want a quick easy way to guestimate your body fat percentage then take a look in the mirror and then at these pictures. […]

I'm scared to increase my carbs | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page Log in to Reply

[…] diet and training. As far as lean mass there IS a difference between bf percentage and lean mass. Here's a really good article on it As for carbs, think about it calorically then. If you are eating in a […]

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[…] Click this link (go ahead, I’ll wait)  Leigh Peele Bodyfat Pictures and Percentages […]

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[…] percentages – I guess I'm looking for visual clues at the moment to help me visualise my goals Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Found another site, which lets you upload a picture and adjust it up or down by about 3 stone in […]

Nikki Log in to Reply

I dont know who said the female on the left at 15 percent body fat had flabby legs. Most MODELS look like and she looks DAMN skinny to me!..she doesnt have flabby ANYTHING in my opinion…LOL I would KILL to look like her. As for me? I think I am more around 20 or something…I look more like the girl with 20 perent BF or around there, cuz I DONT look as bad as the one at 25 percent body fat I’ll tell ya. I am curious thought. I am only 5’1. How tall are these girls? does height matter with body fat? I am sure body fat looks WAY different on a shorty. It seemes our bodies are totally different t then all the tall people.

Kate Log in to Reply

Body fat percentage is the ratio of fat to lean mass (i.e. bones, muscles, vital organs). Height is not relevant although different heights, builds and level of muscle mass may affect how various body fat percentages appear. But the level of ‘fatness’ or ‘leaness’ is essentially the same regardless if the person is a short meosmorph body builder or tall ectomorph endurance athlete.

This is why I personally feel that the example of 15% v 15% is not accurate. The athletic female appears much more defined than the model, hence her body fat percentage must be lower even if they are both carrying the same volume of fat. All that extra muscle will pushing the overall percentage of body fat down. For example take a 100lb female with 20lb of fat and a 150lb female with 20lb of fat……exact same VOLUME of fat, but different body fat PERCENTAGE.

I also think the example of 25% and 30% are misleading. I have seen on another site (where the ‘25%’ body fat girl came from) and said she was 5ft8, 140lb and measured at 29.9% body fat. The example of the 30% body fat girl is probably closer to 35-40%.

This is female apparently measured by DEXA at approx 23% body fat: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2493001&d=1275435189

This is a female apparently meaured by DEXA at approx 28% body fat: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DPtfyN9i4pQ/Sx1fFZKlExI/AAAAAAAACz8/-4U09E2LiD4/s400/fightgonebad.jpg

DEXA is the gold standard when it comes to measuring body composition.

Opps sorry I meant female on the right 15 VS 15

My bmi is around 21/22 and so HOW can my body fat be close to that also? most poeple have said they are irrelevant?.. :$

It’s just coincidence, nothing more. Most healthy females who are not bodybuilders/athletes will tend to have a body fat percentage in the high teens to high 20’s, just so happens the numbers are similar that’s all.

BTW I like the skinny guy at 10 percent versus the muscular 10…I LOVE skinny men 🙂

“Beautiful Badass” Revealed… | Mother Fitness Revolution Log in to Reply

[…] videos to go along with each exercise. She also teamed up with nutrition expert and author of Body Fat Percentage Leigh Peele to give you the most practice advice on dieting that will actually help you shed fat […]

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[…] To understand body fat levels more, you can read this post. […]

Anyone else doing IF? (Intermittent Fasting) - Page 19 - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community Weight Loss Support Log in to Reply

[…] Originally Posted by Txalupa Would I be at risk for this if I'm still eating the same amount I usually do? I eat by the Belly Fat Cure, so I keep it to 15g sugar a day and 6 servings of carbs. With IF I've just been doing this between 1 and 8pm. Lots of veggies, protein, etc. I'm not a crazy body builder or anything, more like 'soft'. If you're still losing weight than it is because you're eating fewer calories than your body requires to maintain your current weight and activity level. At your height and weight I'd guess you're pretty far from the danger zone (depending on how much muscle you have.) I'm only bringing it up because some people are unaware than underwear/bikini/fitness models don't look the way we see them every day of the year. Thus they think they can simply restrict calories and exercise until one day they will look that way. The danger zone for females seems to be in the high teens body fat percentage wise depending on a variety of factors. Below that point is where trouble seems to happen especially when while attempting to get below there exercise is increased and calories are futher restricted. Here is a good little bit by Leigh Peele to help gauge where you're at. […]

Hey.. I just bought a weight watchers body fat scale!! I dont know how accurate it is but atleast it will definatly give me a idea..:) and guess what???? 24 percent baby!! :)) woo hoo! I’m assuming there might be alittle difference of number with other body fat things.. But I am phyced at that number! I WAS PRAYING for it that low…lol

Suzy Log in to Reply

Wow!! This article is great, and I think that you are pretty much spot on!

I have been training to lose fat and weight over the past year. The only device I have access to for measuring my body-fat is a handheld electrical impedence device that they use at the University’s health center. It has steadily gone down over the past year. I started at 170lbs and 33% and my most recent reading was 19% at 131lbs. I am hoping this is accurate, but I know to take it with a grain of salt. My training is split between running and lifting. I have seen a lot of improvements since I started lifting “heavy” with the handheld fat thing showing me to have gone from 24.9% to 19% since January.

One sign I have seen that makes me think that I am close to that 19% goal is that I can see the veins in my forearms throughout the day, and while I lift weights, especially for biceps and triceps, the vein on the front of my biceps pops out and even more of the veins in my forearms do, too. I have heard that vascularity is a sign of lower bodyfat in women and men and I don’t see very many other girls who have this. Is seeing that sign a good indicator that I have less subcutaneous fat? Also, I can “see” some of my upper abs, but usually only in the mornings before I eat and drink and I only do concentrated ab work 1x/week, so I am not one of those cardio & 1000 situps chicks. Because of this, would you say that 19% is probably accurate? I am aiming for 16% and then I would like to start entering bikini/figure competitions.

If the 19% sounds about right, then I will stick to using that as my measuring method, but if it sounds off to you I am going to see out another way.

Are there any other “signs” that can be seen on a woman’s body to gauge fat success without a measuring device besides what I mentioned with vascularity and abdominal definition?

I am working on a post that addresses these topics. It will be a little while, but I a sure you will enjoy it.

Friday 110513 | Emergent Fitness Log in to Reply

[…] body composition. Check out the pictures and the associated percent body fat on the websites below. Body Composition The Four Hour Body – Body Composition This entry was posted in blog. Bookmark the […]

Katie Log in to Reply

I don’t understand.. I am 5’4, 38-28-40 and according to body fat calculators I am 28% BF. But I do not look even close to the size of the woman at 30 and I look way slimmer than the girl at 25 as well. I am rather muscular with strong arms and a pretty hard stomach and thighs, but I would have thought this detail would have made me look larger. But I while I dont look thin, I look curvy and healthy looking with a well proportioned figure and no one would ever call me fat.

Smoked » Blog Archive » 10 percent body fat pictures Log in to Reply

[…] Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Feb 21, 2010 … What is the minimum body fat percentage for human beings and how do we decrease it? … Female Body Fat Percentages by Picture … Both are roughly at 10% body fat. As you can see, … […]

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[…] Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Feb 21, 2010 … Pictures of different body fat percentages and information on measuring body fat via photographs. […]

Forget about scales and your BMI! It's all about your Body Fat Percentage... - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community Weight Loss Support Log in to Reply

[…] is Leigh Peele's excellent discussion https://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-p …nd-percentages __________________ Maintainer 2004-2009, and Feb 2011-present after baby in […]

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[…] healthy. that would mean you have 111lbs of lean mass and probably looked like a fitness model. Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele for your […]

Liz Log in to Reply

I’m very, very confused… I’m female, 5’5″, 142 lbs. Two years ago my BF was 24%. I measured myself recently and according to my bodyfat scale/monitor I’m still the same weight but now my bodyfat is 36%! However, I don’t look any different than I did two years ago. Besides, I don’t look anywhere close to the girl who’s 30% in your pictures. I actually look slimmer than the girl at 20% (I exercise so I have more muscle tone).

Is my scale just off? Can someone please clear this up for me? Thanks!

Toni Log in to Reply

Very eye-opening to see the photos. I had my body fat done a few times and it came out to be 17%. The woman in the photo at 18% looks a lot like me so that was just one more confirmation of where I’m at. Interesting to see how some of the models/actresses who I previously thought were at lower levels look to me between 18-20% based on the photos you posted.

Love My Muscles » All About Abs Log in to Reply

[…] muscles tend to show themselves, when a person is at a low body fat percentage. Generally for females it can be seen around 14% body fat, while for males they have to go even lower to get any sight of them. A defined 6-pack abs, would require even more reduction of body fat to […]

How can I find my body fat % ? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community Weight Loss Support Log in to Reply

[…] which gives a rating chart broken down by age Also this was mentioned in a thread a while back Body Fat Pictures and Percentages I think visually I am between the 25% woman and the 30% woman, which is what the measurement […]

too much fat? | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page Log in to Reply

[…] to change my body composition. I have been primal for 5 weeks now. Any advice will be helpful! Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Meet Staci: Your New Powerlifting Super Hero | Nerd Fitness Reply With Quote   […]

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[…] Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Feb 21, 2010 … Pictures of different body fat percentages and information on … 01. Weight Loss & Body Composition … […]

GChussir Log in to Reply

Awesome entry.

How much muscle mass difference do you think there is between the fitness competitor and the fashion model? (The ones at 15% BF) Do you think the women at 18% BF has more muscle than a sedentary person? Is it possible to visually estimate at that level of BF?

Read More About Quick Body Fat Loss | Customized Fat Loss Plan | Customized Fat Loss Program Review Log in to Reply

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Compare your body fat with these pics & estimate your BF % - Anabolic Steroids, Bodybuilding Discussion Forums - Steroidology Log in to Reply

[…] your body fat with these pics & estimate your BF % Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Attached […]

The 72 Hour Carb Refeed Experiment | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page 80 Log in to Reply

[…] fat % this is a decent resource: http://kdtoptometry.com/wp-content/u …-fat-low1.jpeg So is this: Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Reply With Quote   + Reply to […]

Primal Journal (Isis) | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page 8 Log in to Reply

[…] cool link found on chocotaco's thread: Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele I think I'm between 20%-25%, in terms of comparing these body size and shape pictures So I can't […]

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Body Fat vs The Scale « Taylor Carpenter Certified Personal Trainer – Charlotte, NC Log in to Reply

[…] I came across an article with some pictures off people at different body fat%’s, check it out at https://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages […]

"Frustrations" with paleo/primal | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page 12 Log in to Reply

[…] link to BF% in pictures. using those pictures, i'm 18-20%. that is, i look 18% in some areas and 20% in others. LOL And i […]

Toph's log: van graat naar massief - Pagina 7 - Bodynet.nl - Bodybuilding & Fitness discussieforums Log in to Reply

[…] Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Toph Vandaag met een huidplooimeter mijn BF gemeten en dat was nogal een domper Via een electronische weegschaal had ik 14,7%, via de nek-buikomtrek methode had ik 17. Echter, via de 7 punts meting had ik een vet% van 19,6%. Gek genoeg had ik het zelf lager ingeschat, maar kennelijk zat ik mis. Als ik deze website bekijk lijkt het meer als het plaatje bij 14%, misschien iets meer, maar zeker niet als die harige 20% aap Kan het zijn dat het bij mijn lengte een hoog % er anders uitziet? Hier alsnog de link: Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele […]

How Many Calories Do You Need to Lose, Gain? | Steven J. Campbell's Fit and Happy for Life Log in to Reply

[…] body fat percentage, and while many do not have this information you can get a quick estimate from this guide however a better reading can be given by a trainer who is familiar with using calipers. Electronic […]

Revenwyn Log in to Reply

Get a load of this. Most people don’t find it believable, but I’m a woman, 5’4″, 180 pounds, and DEXA said I had 19% body fat. I’ve got a very large bone structure, and can see my ribs at a 40 inch rib cage.

I’ve lifted heavy weights since my early teen years and can bench press 250 pounds.

Resources: Where to Find the Best Nutrition and Training Information on the Web | RippedBody.jp Log in to Reply

[…] This is a treasure chest of goodies here in this one. For those that read Martin’s leangains blog front to back, you’ll know what I mean. Many people ask about body fat %, there’s a good guide here. […]

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Accuracy of bio-impedance fat measuring scales? | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page Log in to Reply

[…] are using calipers different formula will give widely different results.. Many people think these pics are a more accurate gauge. Eating primal is not a diet, it is a way of life. […]

Lose body fat to look lean vs lose body weight to look “Finny”(Fat+Skinny) « « Do You Know FitnessDo You Know Fitness Log in to Reply

[…] It means that if your body fat is 20% like in the example above, take half of it and convert it into pounds. In other words, unless you are going for a bodybuilding competition, try to always keep on you minimum 6-7% of body fat. ( related topic) […]

Steven Campbelll Log in to Reply

Good guide. Shows a good explanation of what muscle can do for you when your bodyfat gets down to lower levels. good work and thanks for the good post!

Peter @ Big transformation Log in to Reply

Great post there Leigh! I’m a bit unsure about my bodyfat percentage at the moment. My fat calipers say 10.5% but looking at my pictures I don’t look as defined as the bodybuilder picture in this article at 10%. Could be that I’ve got less muscle. What are your thoughts? (My pictures are on my blog)

Should I add clen? - Anabolic Steroids, Bodybuilding Discussion Forums - Steroidology Log in to Reply

[…] on the site referenced in a sticky on the "burning the fat" forum… I would say based on these pics I am closer to 15% or so. I knew this plastic POS was a bad buy… __________________ Normally […]

Mening afgetrainde vrouwen - Pagina 8 - Bodynet.nl - Bodybuilding & Fitness discussieforums Log in to Reply

[…] dat vet% er ook anders uitziet bij verschillende lichaamslengten e.d. Dat linkje wat ik liet zien ( Leigh Peele Blog Archive Body Fat Pictures and Percentages ) laat op het eind ook zien hoe tricky BF is om te bepalen met het blote oog. Dan lijkt het me ZEER […]

I weigh 112 pounds but have body fat 35% - Help! - Page 2 | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page 2 Log in to Reply

[…] I asked pretty much this same question a couple of months ago and someone replied with this link. I found the pictures to be very helpful. My scale seems to be off by 7 to 10 percentage points. […]

Fat Loss Tips: The 2nd Installment Log in to Reply

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[…] (Image Source) […]

Robert Log in to Reply

I would love to have more accurate pictures showing me the difference between 18-16-14-12-10-8% body fat. Preferably with the same athlete. This would really settle the issue once and for all for me.

Health Stats: Keeping Weight Goals in Check | mendingbodyandsoul Log in to Reply

[…] site has a collection of various body fat photos on men and women. I would NEVER shoot for 15% body fat, […]

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[…] A great page for a visual on what different body fat levels look like on different people is Leigh Peele’s […]

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[…] he is eating enough? I'm not restricting calories; I'd estimate my bodyfat % to be 11-12% based on this site. Plenty of food/fat I think! I am transitioning off of (unintentional) very low carb which actually […]

Am I active enough to be eating more carbs?? - Page 5 | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page 5 Log in to Reply

[…] […]

Nieuw, maar toch niet helemaal - Bodynet.nl - Bodybuilding & Fitness discussieforums Log in to Reply

[…] Hier staan enkele vergelijkingsfoto's maar iedereen is anders dus dit is ook niet exact. __________________ 5 x 115 Deadlift – 5 x 100 Squat – 5 x 70 Bench Press Pain is Temporary, Glory is Forever […]

Nimbette Log in to Reply

So, interesting post. Had ultrasound body fat test done and underwater weighing, both said 22% fat on me, but my arms and back and abs are all showing definition and cuts. My abs have definite cuts and ribs and sternum are showing..confused because thought no definition would show at that high of a body fat %. F, 39, 5’7″ and 150 lbs. I take progress pictures and those show the definition, which is puzzling. The testers are always puzzled too.

Ramz Log in to Reply

What is wrong with me? I look like the guy with 14% body fat but my body fat is actually 30% on the bioelectric impedance scale. My weight is 84 kg and I am 5 feet 11 inches tall.

Is there something I’m missing? I have little stomach fat, it doesn’t bulge out or poke through t-shirts.

Someone please reply, thanks.

TriStupe Log in to Reply

Hi Leigh, Good stuff and i am just about to write a short entry in my blog about this. I am an active triathelte and i constantly run. Been eating clean the past 8 months and one thing i regret not doing is to capture my own progress going from30% BF to current 9% because i never expected to lose that much!

Request permission to use graphic from this posting, crediting to your hard work and linking it back to your blog.

Many thanks!

Body fat images - Best Fat Burning Exercises Log in to Reply

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Kevin Richardson-Personal Trainer Log in to Reply

Leigh, Without question that has to be one of the best and most visually comprehensive articles on body fat percentages on the internet today. Great job all round!

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joe Log in to Reply

This is very interesting. I like how the results are presented, especially with the two body types at 10%. One is an active weight lifter with definition and muscle the other guy is a computer type programmer with no definition but still retains a low amount of overall fat. This education is very nice to receive. Thanks again! Vote ups!

Body Fat Percentages: Let Me Count The Ways | Celebrity Diet and Weight Loss Blog Log in to Reply

[…] the bottom line? While it’s a great idea to have a general idea of your body fat percentage, blogger Leigh Peele notes that simply knowing the number won’t change a person’s body composition. However, it […]

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Kelly barrett Log in to Reply

Just had the bodpod test done and the worst false reading- would love some feedback of pictures were taken and sent to you – I’m a PRO figure competitor!

Leigh Log in to Reply

Fell free to shoot them to support at leighpeele.com

Joshua Log in to Reply

Scrap that last comment. Jeez i’m tired…

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[…] Leigh Peele, a fantastic trainer with a great website (thanks for showing me this, Josh Hillis), has a great little explanation of bodyfat percentages with pics. This is very helpful. […]

Day 119. « The Clear Year Log in to Reply

[…] However, I’m still not sure I’m doing it right, because I looked at the pictures on this article, and I look closer the the image representing 20% than I do the 25% or 30%. I would say if I were […]

Adriana Caro Log in to Reply

que buen post, definitivamente hay información que no tiene precio…te felicito!!!

My Body Hacking Experiment | This Is Common Cents Log in to Reply

[…] body fat read at 18.4%. However, I know that I am nowhere near that. Using picture estimators (like this or this), I am more likely in the 12% to 15% range. Unfortunately, more accurate ways of measuring […]

Any other women who put on muscle ridiculously easily? - Page 5 | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page 5 Log in to Reply

[…] lifting is making her bulky" for the sake of something to compare lean versus nont lean — here's a good link I believe the crux of Kharnath's "point" is that until a woman leans out to the point […]

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What is my natural muscular potential part 2 | homefitnessjunkie – news log in to reply.

[…] Peele wrote an excellent article about this, which allows people to verify their body composition results via real-life examples of […]

My Keto Plan | The Romantics Log in to Reply

[…] home so you have to estimate as well as you can. Here are a couple of methods. Comparison – Page 1, Page 2,. Measure yourself – Here. Measuring yourself is by no means really accurate but we […]

Up for the challenge. | Donuts to Dumbbells Log in to Reply

[…] BF% is estimated by comparing my lean body mass to my weight as well as looking at photo comparisons. […]

Jordan Log in to Reply

Hey, I’m a 14-year old girl, and I swim 10-12 hours a week (2 hours a day, every day) for a very competitive local swim club. We do around 6,000 yards a practice in a short-course yards pool. I am a butterfly major, which means that I have really large shoulder and back muscles, as well as a distance freestyler, which means that I have gigantic thighs. I am 5’9 1/4 inches tall, and I weigh about 135 lbs. I eat around 2500 calories a day when I work out, and on Sundays probably around 2000.

Okay. So that’s who I am.

But my question is: I look like the lady at the 18% range, but I don’t feel like I’m that skinny. Can anyone help me estimate my body fat percentage???

And yes, I know this is an old post. Whatever.

Thanks guys!:)

How to measure your body fat percentage | Nerd Fitness Log in to Reply

What is my natural muscular potential part 2 | nutrition consultant log in to reply.

Kassianakis Log in to Reply

Aaah! I love the woman at 25% that is the optimal percentage for a woman! from 20% down she starts looking like a man, and no longer feminine. (I am a male of about 15%)

It’s not just about weight or body fat | RUNNER FIVE Log in to Reply

[…] you scroll to the bottom of this article, there are a couple great side-by-sides that show this […]

Dan John, A Systems Approach to Training DVD Links Page - On Target Publications Log in to Reply

[…] Leigh Peele’s Bodyfat Percentages page […]

Nancy Log in to Reply

I would like more information about body fat and age.

Sereyvorn Log in to Reply

Excellent post. I think its important to understand the visual impact on body fat percentages.

Most people do not understand the real value of body fat. They look at magazines and see “wow, this person is so ripped” but not many of them know that these models are at super low BF levels.

They look amazing in magazines, but in reality, to maintain BF levels below 5% is very hard to practically impossible, nor is it healthy.

Thanks for the post!

What's Your Life Expectancy? Take the Test | Rectangularize Your Aging Curve Log in to Reply

[…] you Fat 2 Fit Radio for the Covert Bailey algorithm and The Clutch Society for the […]

Joy in Seattle Log in to Reply

Great picture comparisons between toned and skinny! Years ago, when I first started weight training, people kept gasping at how much weight I’d lost! No one believed me that I’d put on 15lbs.

DietCopilot blog | The Definitive Guide To Body Fat Percentage and BMI - DietCopilot blog Log in to Reply

[…] Here are some examples from LeighPeele.com: […]

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[…] Leigh Peele […]

The Dream Body Equation – Analysis Part 1: Slight Caloric Deficit | Log in to Reply

[…] 1 gram per pound of lean body mass (LBM), daily.  If you’d like to estimate, I give clients this article by Leigh Peele.  Most people UNDERestimate their body fat percentage by a significant amount. […]

What Really Is Body Fat Percentage | The Changing Lab Log in to Reply

[…] yourself to accurate pictures that represents the different body fat %. I found this really interesting article that contains all of these […]

WEIGHT LOSS | beliceps Log in to Reply

[…] Peele wrote a pretty famous article about body composition. I really recommend reading it. One of the most popularly misunderstood […]

What Should My Leangains Macronutrient Numbers Be? | Log in to Reply

[…] estimate your fat-free mass.  Do this by taking your estimated body fat percentage (refer to this article for help if you need it), multiply it by your weight, and subtract your answer from your current […]

The Top 8 Female Health and Fitness Bloggers Log in to Reply

[…] article on estimating body fat percentages is my go-to resource for that […]

Martha Log in to Reply

I just got my body fat percentage measured today and it said 34,9%. Personally I would love to loose a few kilos, but I am not fat! And I look nothing like the woman in the picture of 30% body fat, actually I’m closer to the one with 25% body fat, so I don’t know if the pictures are wrong, or if the tool I used was wrong?

Training Plateaus on RPT. What, Why, and How To Fix Them. | Log in to Reply

[…] Then estimate your body fat percentage using this link. […]

Jody Schuh Log in to Reply

I have a comment/question. I jumped on one of those weight/height/BMI/body fat electronic measuring machines yesterday at a pharmacy, and the result indicated that my BMI is 23 and my body fat is 40%. I think that’s impossible. What are your thoughts? My personal opinion is that those machines that electronically measure my body fat are always wrong. Thanks

Body Fat Pictures and Percentages by Leigh Peele | The Sad Six Pack Blog Log in to Reply

[…] found that Leigh Peele’s Body Fat Pictures and Percentages post is the best article in showing people an application for the BFP concept. BFP is a simple idea […]

What To Expect | Physique Goal Setting pt2 | RippedBody.jp Log in to Reply

[…] Image credit – Leigh Peele […]

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É melhor esquecer o percentual de gordura (bf)dieta & malhação log in to reply.

[…] cuidado com as respostas dadas se você postar suas fotos em um fórum), compare-se com as fotos desse artigo do Leigh Peele, ou talvez use dois dos métodos criticados acima (estarei sendo hipócrita?). Use o […]

How did I calculate calorie intake? | My statistics Log in to Reply

[…] the scales are quite unpredictable and make incosistent mistakes so we should rather rely on those images… which made me come to the conclusion of a roughly 27% – being a woman of course, […]

Eric Potts Log in to Reply

Happy New Year Everybody! I’m planing on pursuing a Figure Modeling career. I want to know my body fat percentage in an accurate way as well as what weight I must target to in order to reveal my muscle definition. Reason: I want to be highly effictive on how I present myself in a very professioinal manner in classes as well as in the publics eye. Not just in the career that I just mentioned, but, I my everyday life of living. Here’s the numbers: Age:49, Height: 6’1″, Weight: 243lbs, Neck: 17″, Chest: 44″, Waist: 39″, Hips: 45″ and Shoe Size: 13W. Thank you and good luck to everybody!

Nicholas Log in to Reply

Im at 35%… They don’t even represent my type of fat in their charts…

Body Fat Estimation and Other Qs | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page Log in to Reply

[…] for posture is a good starting point. Also Esterher Grokale – google her. Here's a visual guide to body fat percentages can't see the picture but if you have titties then it's over 25% I'd guess Just put something up […]

Bodyfat percentage | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page Log in to Reply

[…] be nothing to show, so no six-pack. Check out the photo of "10% vs. 10%" in this link: Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Presents I can't take the time to find it right now, but if you're interested in this, there's a large […]

Angel Log in to Reply

Body fat photos are HORRIBLE WRONG. Add 5% to 10% more to every photo. Research yourself and you will see. Use google images.

Everything you need to know about body fat - Upgrade your life with Simeon Krastev Log in to Reply

[…] copyright: Body fat 1, 10% body fat difference male, 15% body fat difference […]

Body Fat Comparison Pictures – Martin Ankerl Log in to Reply

[…] Leigh Peele – Body Fat Pictures and Percentages […]

Andrea Log in to Reply

When you try and check yourself in the mirror, are you supposed to flex your abs or just stand completely loose??

The Fine Balance of Bodyweight and Happiness – + Feelin' Good, Feelin' Great Log in to Reply

[…] Here are two highly informative articles on body fat percentage: Everything You Need to Know About Body Fat Percentage Body Fat Pictures and Percentages […]

8 Female Health and Fitness Bloggers You Should Follow Today - Complete Human Performance Log in to Reply

Tập luyện vs chế độ ăn: yếu tố nào quan trọng hơn đến việc giảm cânwiki the duc log in to reply.

[…] Determine how many calories you expend every single day. You can use ExRx’s calculator here. For best accuracy, calculate this by body fat percentage. If you don’t know your current body fat percentage you can use this helpful article by Leigh Peele. […]

Andy Log in to Reply

Fantastic article. Well done and exhaustive. I particularly liked the comparison between the 2 males and the 2 females with the same body fat%. Sure some extra lean muscle can make a dramatic difference even at a low body fat.%

INDICE DE GRASA CORPORAL – SPORTSYNAPSIS Log in to Reply

[…] Peele, L. (2010). Body Fat Pictures and Percentages […]

Jake Johnson Log in to Reply

Everything you need to know about body fat percentage – fitbox99 log in to reply.

Ashley Price Log in to Reply

This is a great article!!! The pictures really but things into perspective. Strength is always more important than being “skinny”.

Physique Training Goal Setting - Part 2 | RippedBody Log in to Reply

12 steps to lowering your body fat - mace mountain log in to reply.

[…] way, is by taking progress photos and using your eye to determine your estimated body fat. There are lots of photos of what different percentages look like. If you are lowering your body fat percentage you will be able to see the physical change. Unless […]

Fat Hips And Thighs Versus Thin Ones | How to Reduce Thigh Fat Log in to Reply

[…] Body Fat Pictures and Percentages | Leigh Peele Presents – Body Fat Pictures and Percentages. Inked by Leigh. On my old blog, I did a video post on the topic of body fat percentage. It is still incredibly popular to this day. […]

Exercise vs. Diet: Which Is More Important for Weight Loss? – Gym | Hamilton Health and Fitness | Cardio, Pilates, Weights & Pool Log in to Reply

[…] Determine how many calories you expend every single day. You can use ExRx’s calculator here. For best accuracy, calculate this by body fat percentage. If you don’t know your current body fat percentage you can use this helpful article by Leigh Peele. […]

Keto Calculator - Health Science 24 Log in to Reply

[…] pretty accurate. The easiest way is to just estimate it from some comparison pictures. More: 1, 2, 3, 4. You can also try this calculator but that can be […]

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Exercise vs. diet: which is more important for weight loss – healthcare services log in to reply, body fat percentages: my two favorite posts ever - losestubbornfat.com - log in to reply.

[…] 2.) Visual Bodyfat Percentages (by Leigh Peele) […]

Weight Loss Data | Child Mental Help Log in to Reply

[…] this by body fat percentage. If you don’t know your current body fat percentage you can use this helpful article by Leigh Peele. […]

Weight loss weightloss weight loss programs weight loss foods weight loss tips Exercise Vs Dieting: Which Is More Important For Weight Loss? – Diet Solutions Log in to Reply

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3D Body Visualizer

We know that no amount of reassurance can ever be enough for your body, weight, or height. This is why we brought you a solution enabling you to see yourself and judge your looks without overthinking or self-doubting. Whether you are a man or a woman, our tool can help you set personal goals, compare progress, and help you understand your fitness journey.

Through the power of visualization, our interactive 3D human modeling simulator allows you to create personalized virtual representations of yourself. You can fine-tune your height, weight, gender, and shape; your on-screen figure will update to represent the details you’ve entered.

Our website is the perfect tool for those looking to gain or lose weight. You can see how you appear in real life or experiment with different visual features, such as muscle definition or fat. Don’t want to become too muscular? See what you would look like after gaining more muscles. Don’t want to become too fat? Well, you can check that out too! Everything is baked right into our user-friendly interface.

How To Use 3D Visualizer

In our tool’s user-friendly interface, you will see different factors and measurements that you can modify about your 3D character. Above the character, you’ll see two options. The first one lets you modify the gender between Male, Female, and Trained Male. The second option lets you change the measuring units between CM/KG and In/LBS.

You can find the most important buttons at the bottom of the screen, where you will see sliders to input your weight and height. The sliders are handy because they allow you to gradually update both factors and see how your appearance is affected by the slow change. It is important to note that we have designed these factors to change with each other by default, as they do in real life. However, you can change this by fixing one of the factors in place.

Pressing the “Fixed” button on the right on either height or weight allows you to freeze it while you freely change the other. Now, changing one factor won’t affect the other.

How Accurate Is the Body Visualizer?

We aim to create the most accurate visualizer on the internet, enabling our users to see only the most accurate image of themselves. We have designed our 3D Visualization tool to give approximate visualization based on average body parameters.

How We Plan To Improve

We are always trying and planning to improve our Visualizer by adding more features. So far, we have successfully added some of our planned features, while others are still in the works, including leg length, hip length, chest length, waist length, breast size, and muscularity. The addition of more factors allows you to get a better representation of your body.

So, try out our 3D Body Visualizer and let us know if you found it useful!

3.1/5 - (269 votes)

13 thoughts on “3D Body Visualizer”

I love this new site. I like the way you show animated images instead of just static images. I assume this is a work in progress, so I have a few suggestions. I’d like to see in addition to the basic height and weight entries options for basic measurements such as chest (bust), waist and hips. Also, I’d like to see an option for including in the same image multiple subjects (for example, male and female together or up to five subjects in the same image.

I agree it sounds ike good suggestions

Nice good for visualising how I will look after weight loss

Can you add any more features? Like chest size, waist size, bicep size, etc.?

I agree with the previous comments; there needs to be measurements for various parts of the body. On top of that, I’d like to see more definition in the human anatomy. For example, if you were to scale down the weight to lower levels, you would see the ribs and hip bones become more visible. Or perhaps you could add a scale to increase muscle tone, as two people with a similar body mass would look fairly different from each other if one worked out regularly and one didn’t. Overall, I enjoy what you’re build here, but I feel like you could add a bit more realism and variation to the final product

the weight it not accurate at all. it looks 25 pounds heavier than it should be.

It would be good to put in some variables for skeletal structure, particularly thngs like leg length – the model looks nothing like me, if my legs were proportioned similarly I’d be 25-30 cm taller! As for shoulders/ribcage – some of us are almost as wide as we’re tall!

Its fun but add customization

I know its bot going to be accurate, but i dont use this for my own body. I make characters and i wanna know how they’d look, and it’s been good for me so far.

Great idea but what is wrong with your models anatomy, at least stop it looking like it is drunk and please try for a regular upright pose rather than hips thrust forward and shoulders so far back it looks painful.

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Behold, every size and shape of body, here in one easy chart. Click on a photo to see all photos of that body size.

Yes! I would love to add your photo. Visit the introduction for more information.

Prefer videos? Explore these Tiktok Height/Weight Videos

This is the photographic height/weight chart! Click on any thumbnail image to load a page showing a full-size photograph.

People send in their photos and I post them in the appropriate slot.

The chart is arranged with lightweight people on the left, heavyweight people on the right. Short people are towards the bottom, tall people are on the top! BMI is a calculation of height and weight, so you'll see most of these pages marked with a single BMI number, regardless of how much muscle or fat the individuals are carrying.  BMI Explained . Find your  Body Surface Area (BSA) . 

Please also read about  Nikki's weight loss surgery

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Height/Weight Chart Illustrated with Photographs

By Rob Cockerham | January 11, 2020

In the 100-190 lbs. Range

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In the 300-380 lbs. Range

Check out The Weight of Clothing

Visual Body Fat Percentage Chart For Women And Men Examples

Nutrition Is A Way Of Life, So Take Your Time To Enjoy It.

Complete Visual Examples For All Body Fat Percentage Ranges

Have you been looking for a Body Fat Chart And Guide that shows  examples of  all male and female body fat percentage ranges ? Hopefully we have solved this once and for all!

Below we have created helpful visual chart examples  that compare body fat percentages for women and men together, and individually. We explain the difference of each range and include; what is considered Healthy, Average, or Otherwise .

We have also provided links to helpful resources that teach you How to Measure and Track Your Own Weight Loss and Body Fat Composition Like a Pro .

On-Page Keys: Green Links = On-Page quick links to take you to visual examples . Blue Links = Takes you to external resources for additional help .

Men vs Women Body Fat Percentage Chart Comparison

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What Is A Healthy Body Fat Percentage For Women Or Men?

Have you ever wondered what a healthy body fat percentage  would be? 

The short answer;  a healthy body fat percentage for women is 14% to 24%,  and a  healthy body fat percentage for men is 6% to 17% . 

The long answer is; your health and fitness goal and also age can effect what you would classify as healthy . We will try and explain this in detail below . Hopefully this will  help give you a better idea of which body fat range to aim for at each stage of your weight loss, or control journey .

Is Measuring Body Fat Percentages Accurate?

Body Fat Percentage is luckily becoming more popular as people are becoming aware of why old systems can be very inaccurate . Looking at just your weight , or even using the BMI scale ( body mass index score ). This is a very broad way to help tailor to the masses , but it’s not specific, or tailored for your body .

This article will hopefully help give you a visual representation of what the different levels of body fat looks like for Women and Men . We have tried to find the most natural body’s to use in the visual body fat percentage charts below . 

Quickly Find Your Visual Body Fat Percentage Chart

Body fat basics, the formula.

The Formula for Body Fat Percentage is the amount of fat in your body in lbs or kg divided by your total body weight, then multiplied by 100 . The answer is shown as a percentage .

Formula Example To Work Out Body Fat Percentages

For example; a 150 lbs Women with 30 lbs of body fat has a body fat percentage of 20% ( 30 lbs / 150 lbs X 100 = 20 ).

How Fat Is Distributed

It goes without saying that everyone is unique . Your body fat distribution will most likely be different to your friends. Also , it will most likely not be evenly distributed across your body .

Everybody stores and distributes fat in different ways . Some men and women can store a lot of fat around their abs and arms , while others might store it in their legs and glutes .

When losing or gaining body fat , these are usually the areas that are the hardest to lose , and the quickest to gain weight .

How Does Age Affect Body Fat

Most Body Fat Calculators and charts will show Higher Body Fat Ranges  as your age increases . This is because as your body ages , the fat within muscle and also around the organs tends to increase as well . 

For example; if you look at a 20 year old Woman compared to a 50 year old Woman . They both have the same measurement of fat under the skin , but the 20 year old may have 22%, while the 50 year old has 25% of body fat .

Body Fat Percentage Chart For Women

Healthy Body Fat Percentage Women Examples

Let’s start off by explaining why Women’s body fat ranges start off higher than men . Women naturally store more essential fat in their body for breast tissue and around the uterus .

Saying this, a healthy female body fat percentage ranges from 18 to 25 percent up until you reach 35 years old . Then, from the ages 36 and above , healthy body fat Ranges  from 24 to 30 percent .

10 to 15 Percent Body Fat Range For Women

10 to 15 Percent Body Fat Ranges in Women is considered very low . This is normally reached by bodybuilders at competition time and is not recommended to sustain for long periods of time . Maintaining this body fat range for women can have effects on normal menstruation cycles . When reaching this Body Fat range , there is very clear separations between muscles with very evident striations .

15 to 20 Percent Body Fat

15 to 20 percent  is viewed as an athlete range of body fat . It is still considered to be a low body fat for a woman . At this percentage , the muscles will be defined with separations showing between the muscles , but not as clearly as the previous range . Unless a lot of time was spent in the gym , a woman will usually lose a lot of shape here as it is usually distributed more evenly through the breasts , glutes , hips and leg regions .

Healthy Body Fat Percentage Chart For Women

20 to 25 Percent Body Fat Ranges

20 to 25 Percent Body Fat percentages are usually categorized as the fitness range for Women . Here there will be some separation between muscles . The main difference being, that body fat starts to show small signs of storing around the arms and legs .

25 to 30 Percent Body Fat For Females

25 to 30 percent body fat for females is considered quite healthy . This is a great target to focus on maintaining . At this body fat percentage range , it will show nice shape through distributing the fat evenly throughout all areas around the body , usually more noticeable around the glutes and legs .

30 to 35 Percent Body Fat In Women

30 to 35 Percent of Body Fat for Women is considered to be healthy . It is on the higher range of the average scale . At this Body Fat rage, the fat will usually show fat starting to store around the thighs , glutes and the hips . For younger women under 21 , this could be considered as a little overweight .

35 to 40 Percent And Above Of Body Fat For Women

At around the 35% Body Fat Percentage Range , the hips will become wider from fat stores building up around the glutes and legs . The neck will look rounded and belly fat can begin to grow over the waistline . 

Hip measurements can be 40 or more inches ( 101.6 cm ) , with a waist measurement of 32 or more inches ( 81.28 cm ).

Above 40% Of Body Fat For Women

After exceeding 40 percent of Body fat in the body for a Woman , the skin will start to lose the smooth appearance . Hip measurements can reach 45 inches or more, with waist measurements being 35 inches or more . 

At this point, and getting closer to 45% , the hips of a woman can become wider than her shoulders .

Body Fat Percentage Chart For Men

Healthy Body Fat Percentage Men Examples

Male Bodybuilders have been known to drop their Body Fat percentage to as low as 3-4 percent during competition time . At this rate, veins , striations and muscle separation lines can clearly be seen across the body . And, the skin almost looks like it’s been laminated straight over the muscle . However, This is considered unhealthy to sustain and shouldn’t be done for long periods of time . 

Men have a lower starting point for body fat percentage compared to females.  As we mentioned earlier, this is due to the difference in anatomy . As shown in the Male Chart Below , healthy Body Fat Percentage ranges also change with age . For Men , a healthy fat percentage at the age of 18 can range from 6 to 13 percent . Whereas, a male in their 50’s has a healthy range of 18 to 25 percent .

Compare the differences in all  examples of body fat percentage charts and visual guides throughout this page to understand the full spectrum.

5 to 10 Percent Body Fat Ranges For Men

5 to 10 Percent Body Fat Ranges for Men are a little less extreme than a bodybuilder in competition season.  It is the point just before you start to lose the clear definition in your muscles . Between five to seven percent , mens faces become very defined and skinny , the main sign to know you have hit this point is when your family starts worrying about you .

A lot of male fitness models will aim to be around this level when they are ready for a photo shoot . This is because it shows clear muscle definition and separation . This level of Body Fat is not wise to sustain for long periods of time .

At 8 to 10 percent , the clear definition in the muscle starts to fade . By 10% , the definition in a mans abs will usually still show an outline of your six pack , but it’s days will definitely start to look numbered .

10 to 15 Percent Body Fat For Men

10 to 15 Percent of Body Fat is a healthy level to maintain for men , right up until they reach 45 years of age . If you are wanting a little bit of volume and to still want to see a little bit of abs , then you will want to stay around the ten to twelve percent . This is the classic beach body look that most men like to aim for .

From 13 to 15 percent , this is where most men lose their six pack and it gets demoted to a two to four pack of abs . For some of the unfortunate ones who store more fat in their stomach region , compared to other areas in their body , this could even mean the beginning of the 1 pack .

Healthy Body Fat Percentage Chart For Men

15 to 20 Percent Of Body Fat In Men

10 to 20 Percent of Body Fat in Men is categorized as healthy for the majority of age groups . When you are above 45 years , this can be considered quite lean . In this body fat range , the volume of muscle can seem quite thick under the skin , but there won’t be clear separations between them .

20 to 25 Percent Body Fat In Males

20 to 25 Percent Body Fat Range shows clear signs of fat covering the muscle and vascularity will almost be gone . Early stages of the twenty percent line will show the stomach with a little soft padding starting to form .

By twenty five percent the waist will begin to increase quite noticeably . To give an idea of a waist to hip ratio at this point could show readings up to 0.9 . 

A waist to hip ratio can be calculated by the circumference of the waist divided by the circumference of the hip . If a man exceeds 25% body fat he is considered to begin entering into obese weight ranges .

25 to 30 Percent Of Fat For Men

At 25 to 30 Percent Body Fat Ranges for men , they will show clear signs of fat storing all around the body . The waistline will look bigger than the hip line.  By this stage, there will also normally be a clear protruding stomach . There won’t be any muscle separation showing on the body .

30 to 35 Percent Of Fat For Men

The main area men can build fat stores is on their stomach . At the 30% to 35% Body Fat Range in Men , there will be a large overhang of fat in the stomach over the front and their waistline can be larger than 40 inches .

Above 35 Percent of Body Fat For Men

When reaching above the 35 percent body fat percentage range , everyday activities can become noticeably difficult . This can be walking long distances , going up stairs , bending or even lifting things up . 

If a man continues past this point , exercising can become dangerous and could also need monitoring by a health professionals .

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Stay Motivated With A Fitness Or Food Journal

A Fitness or Food Journal can be an amazing sidekick to keep track of your physical and mental health .

Learn about basic or advanced body fat percentage measuring methods . See visual body fat percentage charts . Or, learn about the different types of Diets and how they compare .

We thought we would share these great little Journals by BCNMKT with you. They will help you stay motivated , while also keeping track of your fitness and nutrition journey . Understand you body better , and at the same time, use them with any Diet or Exercise Program .

Click on the Journal Images Above to view inside at the pages of the journals . Otherwise, get your journal today from amazon by clicking the buttons below.

The Food Journal By BCNMKT

The Food Journal by BCNMKT is full of how to guides , shopping lists and cheat sheets for Popular diets . It also explains the digestion process and how to control your weight , energy and motivation with any diet .

It provides you with pages to easily follow a healthy and consistent diet . The Journal also allows you to track and see how your body reacts to different events and activities in your everyday life .

The beauty of using a daily food tracker , is you get to physically see results from day one .

BCNMKT's Fitness Journal

A Fitness Journal is the best exercise partner you could ask for! It’s portable , discreet , and lets you compete against yourself .

Not only does this journal explain both simple and advance methods to measure your body fat percentages . But, it also explains how to track different areas of your body and mentality to get the best results out of your workouts . It also has amazing motivational quotes on each tracking page that will definitely inspire you to stay focussed and keep working hard .

Whether you are focussing on cardio outdoors , or following strength programs in the gym . You will be able to use this journal to easily track your moods , energy levels , and your personal bests .

Over time, you’ll be able find the best combination for you and your body for both enjoyment and results ! In turn, this will increase your efficiency and save you time , while also making sure you stay happy and motivated .

©Copyright BeWeightLoss 2023 | Managed By Marketing & Operations Specialists BCNMKT.COM

Understanding Body Fat Percentages for Women: A Visual Guide

For the men’s visual guide to understanding body fat percentages, click here .

This guide can be used to estimate a woman’s body fat percentage by eye. In contrast to most of the the compilation photos you can find online, all of the photos in this guide were taken within a few days of having done a laboratory grade body composition measurement, namely hydrostatic weighing, DXA scanning (most commonly) or multi-frequency BIA scanning. All photos are from clients of Menno or publicly posted photos from the internet. The guide starts with photos of low to high body fat levels in different individuals and ends with compilation images of various body fat percentages.

As a semi-objective reference, the following table from the American Council on Exercise is useful to keep in mind. Many people have a distorted reference of how any body fat percentage looks, because they’ve relied on unreliable body fat measurements that were often not calibrated for athletic populations, in particular skinfold calipers with inappropriate BF% equations and single-frequency BIA scans. Objectively, even most female physique competitors do not manage to get under 12% body fat, as this comprises essential body fat levels.

Reference by percentage

39.1%, 24.6% & 13.7% (dxa): dr natalia spierings.

17.4% & 17% (DXA): Bikini contest shape

21.9% vs. 17% (DXA)

20% vs. 18% (hydrostatic weighing)

22.5% (InBody)

24.5% (DXA)

25% (Multi-frequency BIA)

This is a typical feminine body fat storage pattern with most fat stored on the lower body and hips.

26.9% vs. 15.7% (DXA)

32.4% (DXA)

36.7% (DXA): Overweight

44% (DXA): Obese

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What does 1 stone in weight look like.

eyeeyecaptain · 11/04/2013 23:04

help me visualise it...i've lost 10lbs and am desperate to get 1 stone off..i want to be able to say I have lost the equivalent of ?? what?? Give me a visual idea or comparison of what it looks like!

1 stone = 14lbs = 28 packs of lard

Oh, and well done, by the way!

Google images - type in "1lb of fat" brings up some fantastic results :) Well done on your weight loss so far!!

Oh, and a house brick weighs 5lbs so a stone is just under 3 bricks!!

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• Visceral Fat Real Image

While subcutaneous fat resides just beneath the skin, visceral fat is the hidden enemy that lurks deep within the abdominal cavity, surrounding internal organs like the liver, pancreas, and intestines. It is significantly more dangerous than its subcutaneous counterpart, contributing to a plethora of health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers. With this in mind, the importance of understanding and visualizing visceral fat cannot be overstated.

The advent of modern imaging techniques has made it possible to capture visceral fat images, providing a unique window into our body's inner workings. These images offer invaluable insights into one's health and wellness, serving as a tool to monitor and combat the risks associated with excess visceral fat.

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What is a Visceral Fat Real Image?

A visceral fat real image is a visual representation of the deep-seated fat that surrounds our internal organs. This fat differs from the more visible subcutaneous fat, which is located just under the skin. A visceral fat image can provide crucial information about a person's health, as excessive visceral fat is linked to numerous health issues like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Here are some key points to remember about visceral fat real images:

• Visceral fat real images can be obtained using different imaging techniques, such as CT, MRI, and DEXA.
• These images offer a glimpse into the body's internal fat stores, providing valuable information about overall health and potential risks.
• Visceral fat images are an essential tool for medical professionals to assess and monitor a person's risk of developing obesity-related health conditions.
• They can also serve as a motivational tool for individuals seeking to improve their health by losing excess visceral fat.

Do BodySpec Scans Show You Your Visceral Fat?

Yes, indeed! BodySpec's DEXA scans are capable of providing an accurate image of your visceral fat. The company's state-of-the-art technology allows for a comprehensive assessment of your body composition, including visceral fat levels. This non-invasive and relatively quick procedure offers valuable insights into your overall health and potential risks associated with visceral fat accumulation.

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• Visualize the distribution of visceral fat within your abdominal cavity.
• Accurately measure the amount of visceral fat, providing a reliable baseline for monitoring changes over time.
• Understand the potential health risks associated with your current visceral fat levels.
• Make informed decisions regarding diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes to reduce visceral fat and improve overall health.

Visceral fat real images play a vital role in understanding and managing the hidden health risks associated with this dangerous type of fat. By utilizing advanced imaging techniques like BodySpec's DEXA scans, individuals can gain invaluable insights into their body composition and take the necessary steps to improve their health and reduce the risks associated with excess visceral fat.

Fox, C. S., Massaro, J. M., Hoffmann, U., Pou, K. M., Maurovich-Horvat, P., Liu, C. Y., ... & Murabito, J. M. (2007). Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue compartments: association with metabolic risk factors in the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation, 116(1), 39-48. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.675355

Tchernof, A., & Després, J. P. (2013). Pathophysiology of human visceral obesity: an update. Physiological Reviews, 93(1), 359-404. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00033.2011

Pickhardt, P. J., Jee, Y., O'Connor, S. D., & del Rio, A. M. (2012). Visceral adiposity and hepatic steatosis at abdominal CT: association with the metabolic syndrome. AJR. American Journal of Roentgenology, 198(5), 1100-1107. https://www.ajronline.org/doi/full/10.2214/AJR.11.7240

Lee, S. Y., Gallagher, D., & Garry, P. J. (2008). Assessment of adiposity in older individuals: comparison of single-slice and multislice computed tomography. American Journal of Human Biology, 20(4), 460-464. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajhb.20755

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• Open access
• Published: 27 July 2022

Silhouette images enable estimation of body fat distribution and associated cardiometabolic risk

• Marcus D. R. Klarqvist   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7630-2708 1   na1 ,
• Saaket Agrawal   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2535-4759 2 , 3 , 4   na1 ,
• Nathaniel Diamant   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1738-304X 1 ,
• Patrick T. Ellinor 2 , 4 ,
• Anthony Philippakis 1 , 5 ,
• Kenney Ng 6 ,
• Puneet Batra   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6822-0593 1   na2 &
• Amit V. Khera   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6535-5839 2 , 3 , 4 , 7   na2  

npj Digital Medicine volume  5 , Article number:  105 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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• Medical imaging

Inter-individual variation in fat distribution is increasingly recognized as clinically important but is not routinely assessed in clinical practice, in part because medical imaging has not been practical to deploy at scale for this task. Here, we report a deep learning model trained on an individual’s body shape outline—or “silhouette” —that enables accurate estimation of specific fat depots of interest, including visceral (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous (ASAT), and gluteofemoral (GFAT) adipose tissue volumes, and VAT/ASAT ratio. Two-dimensional coronal and sagittal silhouettes are constructed from whole-body magnetic resonance images in 40,032 participants of the UK Biobank and used as inputs for a convolutional neural network to predict each of these quantities. Mean age of the study participants is 65 years and 51% are female. A cross-validated deep learning model trained on silhouettes enables accurate estimation of VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes ( R 2 : 0.88, 0.93, and 0.93, respectively), outperforming a comparator model combining anthropometric and bioimpedance measures (Δ R 2  = 0.05–0.13). Next, we study VAT/ASAT ratio, a nearly body-mass index (BMI)—and waist circumference-independent marker of metabolically unhealthy fat distribution. While the comparator model poorly predicts VAT/ASAT ratio ( R 2 : 0.17–0.26), a silhouette-based model enables significant improvement ( R 2 : 0.50–0.55). Increased silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio is associated with increased risk of prevalent and incident type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease independent of BMI and waist circumference. These results demonstrate that body silhouette images can estimate important measures of fat distribution, laying the scientific foundation for scalable population-based assessment.

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Introduction

Body-mass index (BMI) is a routinely measured proxy for overall fat burden. Increased BMI—used to define obesity in clinical practice—is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . While BMI is a useful guide for disease risk at a population level, individuals with the same BMI can have markedly different fat distributions and cardiometabolic risk profiles 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 . Prior work utilizing medical imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) has identified certain fat depots as key drivers of “within BMI-group variation” in cardiometabolic risk 9 , 10 . At any given BMI, increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) has been associated with cardiometabolic risk while abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) may have a net neutral effect, and gluteofemoral adipose tissue (GFAT) appears to be a protective “metabolic sink” for excess adipose tissue 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 .

These findings suggest potential value in quantifying fat depot volumes—either for identifying high-risk individuals based on metabolically unfavorable characteristics or for tracking response to a given weight reduction therapy. Based on the increased risk conferred by visceral fat, recent professional society guidelines suggest inclusion of waist circumference as a “vital sign” within clinical practice 15 . This is supported by the observation that waist circumference is correlated with VAT volume as well as a strong association of waist circumference with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality 13 , 16 , 17 , 18 . However, for any given individual, waist circumference may be driven by fat surrounding internal organs (VAT) or fat accumulation just under the skin (ASAT), with potentially important differences in corresponding risk.

Hence, a large gap exists between anthropometric measures such as BMI and waist circumference—easily quantified in clinical practice, but providing limited resolution—and medical imaging, which allows for more precise characterization of fat distribution, but has not been practical to deploy at scale. Images of an individual’s silhouette—if adequately predictive—could close this implementation gap. Prior seminal studies have suggested that estimation of fat distribution using various proxies for medical imaging may be feasible, but have several limitations 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 . First, most studies in this area have focused on predicting overall fat and fat-free mass rather than specific fat depots, which is likely to be significantly more diffcult 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 28 . Second, no prior study has aimed to predict ratios between fat depots, which are poorly captured by BMI and waist circumference and hence may add the most clinical value 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 . Third, prior studies in this area have been limited by sample sizes of up to several hundred healthy participants, limiting the ability to perform robust cross-validation or assess generalizability 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 . Fourth, no prior study has demonstrated that fat distribution predicted by an individual’s outline stratifies risk of cardiometabolic disease independent of BMI and waist circumference.

In this study, we derive front- and side-facing silhouette images for 40,032 participants of the UK Biobank from body MRI imaging data. Cross-validated deep learning models trained on these images, using previously calculated whole-body MRI-estimated volumes as truth labels, demonstrate highly accurate estimation of VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes, significantly outperforming prediction achievable using anthropometric variables 14 . Beyond measures such as waist circumference, we note that the VAT/ASAT ratio quantified using silhouette images is a strong predictor of both type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Silhouettes allow for accurate estimation of VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes

In all, 40,032 participants of the UK Biobank imaging substudy with VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes previously quantified on the basis of MRI were included 14 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 . Mean age was 65 years, 20,597 (51%) were female, and 97% were white on the basis of self-reported ethnicity (Table 1 ). Coronal and sagittal silhouettes were generated for each participant by (1) segmenting the body outline in axial MRI acquisitions, (2) computing a surface map of the resulting segmentation volume, (3) projecting this 3-dimensional surface map into 2-dimensional images in the coronal (front-to-back) and sagittal (side-by-side) directions, and (4) converting pixel intensities into binary values, either zeros or ones (Fig. 1A ). These silhouettes were used as inputs to train a convolutional neural network (CNN) model to predict VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes using MRI-derived measurements as truth labels using a cross-validation procedure ( Supplementary Fig. 1 ) 14 .

A Silhouettes were created from body MRIs by segmenting the outline of axial acquisitions, projecting the resulting volume onto a two-dimensional surface map, and binarizing pixels. B Silhouette-predicted VAT, ASAT, and GFAT plotted against MRI-derived measurements 14 . Solid black lines denote the linear fits, while the solid gray lines correspond to the identity line. Sex-stratified performance metrics and Bland-Altman plots are available in Supplementary Data 1 and Supplementary Figs. 2 – 5 .

The CNN trained on silhouettes achieved high performance for predicting VAT ( R 2  = 0.885; 95%CI: 0.882–0.887, ASAT ( R 2  = 0.934; 0.932–0.935), and GFAT ( R 2  = 0.932; 0.930–0.934) volumes (Fig. 1B ; Supplementary Data 1 ; Supplementary Figs. 2 – 5 ) 14 . Performance was consistent when the cohort was age-stratified, but attenuated in sex and BMI subgroups, consistent with the significant differences in the distribution of these traits according to sex and BMI (Supplementary Data 1–3; Supplementary Figs. 6 and 7 ). Performance was broadly consistent across Black, East Asian, and South Asian participants—with the exception of somewhat attenuated VAT prediction in Black participants ( R 2  = 0.784; 95%CI: 0.735–0.823)—although these comparisons were limited by lower numbers of non-White individuals (Supplementary Data 4 ).

Silhouette-based predictions outperform anthropometric models

We next set out to compare the performance of silhouette-derived predictions of VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes with models based on anthropometric measurements. We constructed sex-stratified models combining age with one of—or a combination of—weight, height, body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and five bioelectric impedance measurements (Supplementary Data 5 ).

BMI-based models offered considerable predictive capacity for each fat depot volume, with the lowest performance observed in male participants for prediction of VAT ( R 2  = 0.608; 95% CI: 0.599–0.618) and the best performance observed in female participants for prediction of ASAT ( R 2  = 0.833; 95% CI: 0.828–0.837) (Fig. 2 and Supplementary Data 6 ). These models reflect the high correlation between BMI and any given fat depot volume in the body (Supplementary Fig. 7 ). Silhouette-based models outperformed BMI-based models by Δ R 2  = 0.220–0.241 for VAT, Δ R 2  = 0.114–0.172 for ASAT, and Δ R 2  = 0.248–0.263 for GFAT, suggesting that significant BMI-independent variation in these three fat depots was captured. In contrast, waist circumference-based models displayed only a small improvement for prediction of VAT ( R 2 Male: 0.637; 95% CI: 0.628–0.645; R 2 Female: 0.659; 95% CI: 0.650–0.667) over BMI-based models and performed worse for the prediction of ASAT and GFAT. Finally, we combined all anthropometric and bioimpedance measures in a single model. While improved performance compared to the BMI-based models was observed for VAT ( R 2 Male: 0.724; 95% CI: 0.717–0.732; R 2 Female: 0.731; 95% CI: 0.723–0.739), ASAT ( R 2 Male: 0.829; 95% CI: 0.823–0.835; R 2 Female: 0.898; 95% CI: 0.895–0.901), and GFAT ( R 2 Male: 0.793; 95% CI: 0.785–0.801; R 2 Female: 0.856; 95% CI: 0.852–0.860), silhouette-based models outperformed these models by Δ R 2  = 0.101–0.125 for VAT, Δ R 2  = 0.049–0.065 for ASAT, and Δ R 2  = 0.092–0.098 for GFAT.

Sex-specific linear models combining age and various anthropometric metrics measured at the time of imaging were compared to a linear model combining age and silhouette-predicted fat volume (Supplementary Data 5 and 6 ). Model definitions; BMI: age + BMI; Waist: age + waist circumference; Anthro: age + weight + height + BMI + waist circumference + hip circumference + waist-hip ratio + body impedance measures; Silhouette: age + silhouette. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals obtained from bootstrapping with 1000 resamples.

We next compared our silhouette-based model for VAT prediction with a recently developed multivariable model for predicting DEXA-derived VAT mass based on 17 anthropometric variables (Supplementary Data 7 ) 33 . These multivariable models performed similarly to the combined anthropometric model in this study for VAT prediction ( R 2 Male: 0.719; 95% CI: 0.709–0.728; R 2 Female: 0.710; 95% CI: 0.694–0.724)—silhouette-based models outperformed these by Δ R 2  = 0.122–0.130.

Taken together, these data suggest that a deep learning model trained on silhouettes can outperform models combining anthropometric and bioimpedance measurements for prediction of VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes.

Silhouette prediction of VAT/ASAT ratio overcomes a key limitation of measured waist circumference

Waist circumference is often used as a proxy for VAT, but the parameter it aims to estimate—central adiposity—can be driven by a preponderence of either ASAT or VAT 15 . As an example, a pair of age, sex, BMI, and waist circumference-matched participants are shown in Fig. 3A with highly discordant abdominal fat distribution—one participant has significantly greater VAT (VAT: 9.2 L, ASAT: 4.5 L, VAT/ASAT ratio = 2.0), while the other has much more ASAT (VAT: 3.7 L, ASAT: 9.3 L, VAT/ASAT ratio = 0.4).

A Two-dimensional (2D) MRI projections and silhouettes of an age, sex, BMI, and waist circumference-matched pair of participants with drastic differences in abdominal fat distribution. While both participants have an elevated waist circumference for their sex- and BMI-group, participant 1 primarily has ASAT-driven central obesity, while participant 2 primarily has VAT-driven central obesity. B A linear model combining age and silhouette prediction markedly outperforms anthropometric models for the prediction of VAT/ASAT ratio (Supplementary Data 6 ). Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals obtained from bootstrapping with 1000 resamples. C Waist circumference is strongly correlated with silhouette-predicted VAT (VAT SIL ) and silhouette-predicted ASAT (ASAT SIL ) ( R 2 0.72–0.76), but nearly independent of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT (VAT/ASAT SIL ) ( R 2 0.07–0.20).

We aimed to investigate the extent to which VAT/ASAT ratio—a marker of metabolically unhealthy fat distribution—could be predicted using anthropometric models. In contrast to their performance for fat depot volumes, sex-specific models combining weight, height, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, WHR, and five bioimpendance measures yielded poor predictive performance for VAT/ASAT ratio ( R 2 Male: 0.171; 95% CI: 0.161–0.181; R 2 Female: 0.262; 95% CI: 0.252–0.272) (Fig. 3B and Supplementary Data 6 ). Notably, WHR-based models (without other anthropometric measures) achieved comparable performance ( R 2 Male: 0.138; 95% CI: 0.129–0.148; R 2 Female: 0.246; 95% CI: 0.235–0.256).

This marked reduction in performance compared to similar anthropometric models used to predict VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes demonstrates the challenge of predicting regional adiposity out of proportion to the overall size of an individual. Much of the predictive performance for fat depot volumes with variables such as BMI and waist circumference comes from an underlying correlation of all of these variables with the overall size of an individual—VAT/ASAT ratio is unique in this regard, being relatively independent of BMI (Pearson r Male = 0.14; r Female = 0.22) (Supplementary Fig. 7 ).

We hypothesized that a deep learning model trained on silhouettes could predict VAT/ASAT ratio better than what might be achieved with anthropometric measures, despite the fact that the anatomical boundary between VAT and ASAT cannot be directly ascertained from an individual’s silhouette. Silhouette-based models demonstrated marked improvement over anthropometric models for prediction of VAT/ASAT ratio ( R 2 Male: 0.553; 95% CI: 0.542–0.562; R 2 Female: 0.504; 95% CI: 0.492–0.516) (Fig. 3B ). Compared to the best anthropometric model, this represented an improvement of Δ R 2  = 0.382 in male participants and Δ R 2  = 0.242 in female participants.

We additionally confirmed that waist circumference was strongly correlated with silhouette-predicted VAT ( R 2 Male 0.72; R 2 Female 0.76) and silhouette-predicted ASAT ( R 2 Male 0.73; R 2 Female 0.74), but a poor proxy for silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ( R 2 Male 0.07, R 2 Female 0.20), suggesting that information independent of waist circumference was learned (Fig. 3C and Supplementary Fig. 7 ).

Silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT associates with cardiometabolic diseases

We next investigated associations of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT with type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia (Supplementary Data 8 ) 34 . In sex-specific logistic regression models adjusted for age and imaging center, silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT was associated with increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes in both males (OR/SD 1.78; 95% CI: 1.69–1.87) and females (OR/SD 1.97; 95% CI: 1.85–2.09) (Fig. 4A and Supplementary Data 9 ). Additionally adjusting for BMI and waist circumference minimally attenuated effect sizes for silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio (OR/SD Male 1.70; 95% CI: 1.61–1.80; OR/SD Female 1.74; 95% CI: 1.62–1.86), consistent with the relative independence of VAT/ASAT ratio with these two anthropometric measures. Similar trends were observed with coronary artery disease, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia with attenuated effect sizes—for example, in models adjusted for BMI and waist circumference, silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT associated with increased prevalence of coronary artery disease in both males (OR/SD 1.22; 95% CI: 1.16–1.29) and females (OR/SD 1.21; 95% CI: 1.09–1.33) (Supplementary Fig. 8 ).

A Disease associations with silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio in sex-specific unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models. All models were adjusted for age at the time of imaging and imaging center—“BMI adj” refers to additional adjustment for BMI, while “BMI and Waist adj.” refers to additional adjustment for BMI and waist circumference. Full data are available in Supplementary Data 9 . B Sex-stratified standardized prevalence of type 2 diabetes across the bottom quintile (light orange), quintiles 2–4 (neutral orange), and the top quintile (dark orange) of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio within BMI-bins and waist circumference categories. High waist circumference was defined in a sex- and BMI-subgroup specific fashion as described in Supplementary Data 12 . Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

This procedure was repeated with MRI-derived VAT/ASAT in lieu of silhouette-predicted values to compare disease associations. Trends were broadly consistent between MRI-derived VAT/ASAT and silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT. Interestingly, the association between MRI-derived VAT/ASAT ratio and type 2 diabetes was slightly attenuated compared to silhouette-predicted values in BMI and waist circumference-adjusted models (OR/SD Male 1.43; 95% CI: 1.35–1.51; OR/SD Female 1.50; 95% CI: 1.40–1.62) (Supplementary Fig. 9 and Supplementary Data 10 ). In contrast, the association with coronary artery disease was nearly identical (OR/SD Male 1.18; 95% CI: 1.12–1.25; OR/SD Female 1.19; 95% CI: 1.08–1.30).

Disease associations with waist-hip ratio (WHR) in place of VAT/ASAT ratio yielded comparable effect sizes, with a somewhat reduced effect size in male participants (Supplementary Fig. 10 and Supplementary Data 11 ). For example, WHR was associated with increased risk of hypertension in BMI-adjusted analyses (OR/SD Male 1.20; 95% CI: 1.15–1.25; OR/SD Female 1.17; 95% CI: 1.13–1.22) with attenuated effect size compared to silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio in males (OR/SD Male 1.31; 95% CI: 1.27–1.35; OR/SD Female 1.23; 95% CI: 1.18–1.27). Notably, WHR ratio was only modestly correlated with VAT/ASAT ratio (Pearson r range: 0.35–0.58), suggesting that VAT/ASAT ratio and WHR ratio may independently contribute to disease associations (Supplementary Fig. 7 ).

We next set out to understand the gradients in disease prevalence rates according to quintiles of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT. We estimated prevalence rates for males and females separately across clinical BMI categories of normal, overweight, obese, and severely obese participants with either normal or elevated waist circumference based on previously recommended BMI-specific cutoffs (Supplementary Data 12 ) 15 , 35 . This analysis revealed substantial gradients in prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases according to silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT quintiles, even after stratification within BMI and waist circumference bins (Fig. 4B and Supplementary Data 13 ). For example, men with overweight BMI and normal waist circumference with silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT in the top quintile had a higher probability of type 2 diabetes (9.5%; 95% CI 8.6–10.4%) compared to both (1) men with overweight BMI and elevated waist circumference with silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT in the bottom quintile (3.7%; 95% CI 3.0–4.5%) and (2) men with obese BMI and normal waist circumference with silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT in the bottom quintile (4.2%; 95% CI 3.4–5.1%). Similar trends were observed for coronary artery disease (Supplementary Fig. 11 and Supplementary Data 13 ).

Over a median follow-up of 2.8 years after imaging, 235 (0.6%) and 607 (1.5%) participants had a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes or coronary artery disease recorded in the electronic health record. Silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT associations with incident disease were broadly consistent with prevalent analyses. In BMI- and waist circumference-adjusted Cox regressions, silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT associated with increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes (HR/SD Male 1.33; 95% CI: 1.13–1.57; HR/SD Female 1.51; 95% CI: 1.30–1.74) and increased risk of incident coronary artery disease in males (HR/SD 1.19; 95% CI: 1.08–1.30) (Supplementary Data 14 ). A directionally consistent association was observed with incident coronary artery disease in females, although interpretation was limited by sample size (HR/SD 1.09; 95% CI: 0.94–1.27). Similar effects were observed when MRI-derived VAT/ASAT was used in lieu of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT (Supplementary Data 15 ). Taken together, these data support silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio as a strong, BMI- and waist circumference-independent predictor of cardiometabolic diseases.

In this study, we developed a deep learning model trained on an individual’s silhouette that predicts VAT, ASAT, GFAT volumes, and VAT/ASAT ratio using cross-validation analyses of 40,032 individuals. These silhouette-based predictions are significantly more accurate than those based on anthropometric and bioimpedance measures, particularly for VAT/ASAT ratio, a metric of unhealthy fat distribution 34 . VAT/ASAT ratio as quantified using silhouette images—largely independent of BMI and waist circumference—was strongly associated with cardiometabolic disease, including diabetes and coronary artery disease. These results have at least three implications.

First, deep learning models trained on simple, less data-rich imaging modalities may help close the gap between sophisticated imaging-based markers of adiposity and clinical impact. The present study is proof-of-concept that input data as simple as the outline of an individual is likely to harbor considerably more information about that individual’s fat distribution compared to models that combine several clinical measurements such as BMI and waist circumference. These silhouette-predicted estimates—while crude in comparison to MRI-derived measurements—may be sufficient for cardiometabolic risk screening. Our findings extend prior work focused on prediction of fat-free mass and related measures from DEXA, to measures of fat distribution trained using more sophisticated MRI-based assessment 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 . Recent advances in three-dimensional optical scanners have enabled accurate whole-body surface reconstructions capable of predicting body volumes, waist circumference, and overall fat mass, with some of these products available to the public 22 , 24 , 36 , 37 , 38 . Although accurate and non-invasive, the quantities that are most often predicted by these tools are likely to be highly correlated with BMI, waist circumference, and the overall size of an individual. The present study proposes VAT/ASAT ratio as one useful benchmark for determining how much information has been learned about fat distribution independent of BMI. Alongside advances in smartphone camera technology such as LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and recent evidence that smartphone images can quantify overall body fat, our results lay the scientific foundation for a scalable approach to population health management that incorporates assessment of fat distribution 28 .

Second, waist circumference is more strongly correlated with central obesity than BMI, but is unable to distinguish between VAT and ASAT, indices with differing implications for cardiometabolic risk 14 , 15 . Consistent with this limitation, models incorporating anthropometric measurements did not allow for accurate prediction of VAT/ASAT ratio, which we establish as a largely BMI-independent measure of local adiposity. By contrast, our deep learning model showed good predictive performance for VAT/ASAT ratio, even though the boundary between visceral and subcutaneous fat is not explicitly available in silhouette images. The striking gradients in disease patterns observed for VAT/ASAT ratio were minimally attenuated after additional adjustment for BMI and waist circumference. In light of renewed calls for the routine measurement of waist circumference to better stratify cardiometabolic risk associated with body habitus, our work suggests that VAT/ASAT ratio could provide important additional and largely independent information to inform clinical risk estimation 15 .

Third, the conceptual approach outlined here could be leveraged to identify individuals with undiagnosed lipodystrophies or similar phenotypes currently “flying under the radar” within clinical practice 39 . As an example, familial partial lipodystrophy is a genetic disorder characterized by relative depletion of subcutaneous fat with relative maintenance or excess of visceral fat 40 , 41 . Prior proof of principle data suggests that it may be possible to differentiate lipodystrophy patients versus controls using a “fat shadow” derived from clinical-grade DEXA imaging 41 . Given that this condition remains under-recognized within practice, systematic assessment of large populations may prove useful in identifying additional individuals who would benefit from genetic testing or a targeted therapy. For example, metreleptin improves the metabolic profile of patients with partial lipodystrophy and tesamorelin selectively reduces visceral fat in patients with HIV despite no impact on BMI and overall weight 42 , 43 , 44 . Beyond monogenic lipodystrophies, there is increasing evidence of a less severe, “polygenic” form of lipodystrophy common in individuals with insulin resistance and less pronounced perturbations in fat distribution 45 , 46 , 47 . Identification of such individuals could, in principle, enable a clinical trial or other assessment of this population to characterize clinical utility.

This study has several limitations, providing opportunities for future investigation. First, the majority of participants in the UK Biobank are white, and the imaged substudy investigated here is of mean age 65 years. Although our data suggests similar performance within participant subgroups based on age and self-reported ethnicity group, additional validation across ancestrally and geographically diverse populations would be of considerable value, especially given prior evidence of significant variability in fat distribution indices across racial groups 48 . An important example relates to the South Asian population, where abnormal fat distribution has been postulated as a key driver of the markedly increased rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes observed, often in the context of a relatively normal BMI 49 , 50 . In addition, training on dedicated cohorts with higher BMI is likely to improve predictive accuracy at the extremes of the phenotype distributions. Second, silhouettes in this study were derived by taking the outline of whole-body MRI images, rather than a more cost-effective modality such as photos taken with a smartphone. A future study that utilizes silhouettes obtained from smartphone images would need to additionally account for heterogeneity in user image acquisition technique and require independent validation. Third, we were unable to assess the accuracy of silhouettes in estimating fat depot volume changes over time. Investigation of multiple silhouette-predicted fat depot estimates over time, ideally in the context of a specific lifestyle or clinical intervention, is likely to be of considerable interest.

In conclusion, we demonstrate that a deep learning model using silhouettes can quantify fat distribution phenotypes with important potential clinical implications for cardiometabolic health. These results lay the scientific foundation for a population health effort that allows for tracking of these traits in the general population without the requirement for medical imaging.

Study population

All analyses were conducted in the UK Biobank, a prospective cohort study that recruited over 500,000 individuals aged 40–69 in the UK from 2006 to 2010. In this study, we analyzed 40,032 participants of the imaging substudy with fat depot volumes previously quantified using whole-body MRI 14 , 29 . This analysis of data from the UK Biobank was approved by the Mass General Brigham Institutional Review Board and was performed under UK Biobank application #7089.

Preparing silhouettes from whole-body magnetic resonance images

Whole-body MRI data was preprocessed as previously described 14 . In short, whole-body MRIs were acquired in six separate series with varying resolutions, which require preprocessing before merging into three-dimensional (3D) volumes. We resampled each series to the highest available resolution (voxel = 2.232 × 2.232 × 3.0 mm 3 ), de-duplicated overlapping regions and merged the six series into 3D volumes. The fat-phase acquisition was used to segment a 3D volume for each individual, as described in the Supplementary Methods .

In order to generate a “silhouette” encoding information only about the outline of an individual, pixel intensities were set to one if they were on the surface of the body and to zero otherwise in either the coronal or sagittal orientation. For example, a given pixel on a coronal two-dimensional projection represents the presence or absence of a segmented pixel in the anterior-posterior direction perpendicular to the coronal plane. Classifying pixels as belonging to either the body or the background, in a procedure known as segmentation, was performed on the two-dimensional axial images. The input to the deep learning models described below was two such silhouette images concatenated side-by-side—one coronal and one sagittal—and resized to 237 × 256 pixels.

Deep learning to predict fat depot volumes using silhouettes

For predicting the target fat depot volumes, we employed the DenseNet-121 architecture as the base model 51 . Additional information regarding deep learning architecture, parameters, and training procedure can be found in the Supplementary Methods . In brief, we constructed a hierarchical multi-task model with the coronal and sagittal silhouettes as input that jointly predicted VAT, ASAT, and GFAT volumes, and VAT/ASAT ratio ( Supplementary Methods ).

To avoid reporting overfit results and to ensure that all participants received an unbiased prediction, we employed a nested cross-validation approach. In this approach, the cohort is first split into five non-overlapping partitions and five models can then be trained using data from three partitions, then testing and validation is performed using the remaining two partitions (Supplementary Fig. 1 ). For each model, predictions from the validation partition are unbiased and are collected to acquire predictions for all participants. We found that performing cross-validation within the partitions improved performance. The final prediction for each fold was reported as the mean-ensemble of the cross-validation models.

Linear anthropometric models to benchmark performance

Sex-specific anthropometric models were generated by predicting each MRI-derived fat measurement using one of, or a combination of, age, weight, height, body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and five bioelectric impedance measurements commonly used for measuring body fat. We utilized the aforementioned nested cross-validation approach to generate predictions from these models. R 2 and mean absolute error (MAE) are reported to compare performance of models. 95% confidence intervals for R 2 were generated by bootstrapping with 1000 resamples.

Association with cardiometabolic diseases

The primary outcomes were prevalent and incident type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease, and prevalent hypertension and hypercholesterolemia 14 . Type 2 diabetes was defined on the basis of ICD-10 codes, self-report during a verbal interview with a trained nurse, use of diabetes medication, or a hemoglobin A1C greater than 6.5% before the date of imaging (Supplementary Data 8 ). Coronary artery disease was defined as myocardial infarction, angina, revascularization (percutaneous coronary intervention and/or coronary artery bypass grafting), or death from CAD as determined on the basis of ICD-10 codes, ICD-9 codes, OPCS-4 surgical codes, nurse interview, and national death registries. Hypertension was defined on the basis of ICD-10 codes, ICD-9 codes, nurse interview, or diagnosis by a doctor, and hypercholesterolemia was defined on the basis of ICD-10 codes or nurse interview, as previously described 52 .

Sex-stratified logistic regression models adjusted for age at time of imaging, imaging center, BMI, and waist circumference were used to test associations of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio with prevalent disease. Cox proportional-hazard models with the same covariates were used to test associations of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio with incident events. Finally, we used sex-stratified logistic regression models adjusted for the same covariates to determine the gradient in probability of prevalent disease across quintiles of silhouette-predicted VAT/ASAT ratio in BMI- and waist circumference-bins.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

The raw UK Biobank data—including the anthropometric data reported here—are made available to researchers from universities and other research institutions with genuine research inquiries following IRB and UK Biobank approval.

Code availability

Representative code used in this work will be deposited at the following Github repository: https://github.com/broadinstitute/ml4h/tree/master/model_zoo/silhouette_mri .

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation Fellowship (to S.A.), grants 1K08HG010155 and 1U01HG011719 (to A.V.K.) from the National Human Genome Research Institute, a Hassenfeld Scholar Award from Massachusetts General Hospital (to A.V.K.), a Merkin Institute Fellowship from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (to A.V.K.), and a sponsored research agreement from IBM Research to the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (P.T.E., A.P., P.B., A.V.K.). M.D.R.K., S.A., P.B., and A.V.K. are listed as co-inventors on a patent application for the use of imaging data in assessing body fat distribution and associated cardiometabolic risk.

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These authors contributed equally: Marcus D. R. Klarqvist, Saaket Agrawal.

These authors jointly supervised this work: Puneet Batra, Amit V. Khera.

Authors and Affiliations

Data Sciences Platform, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

Marcus D. R. Klarqvist, Nathaniel Diamant, Anthony Philippakis & Puneet Batra

Cardiovascular Disease Initiative, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

Saaket Agrawal, Patrick T. Ellinor & Amit V. Khera

Center for Genomic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Saaket Agrawal & Amit V. Khera

Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

Anthony Philippakis

Center for Computational Health, IBM Research, Cambridge, MA, USA

Verve Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA, USA

Amit V. Khera

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Contributions

M.D.R.K. and S.A. contributed equally. P.B. and A.V.K. jointly supervised this work. Conceptualization: M.D.R.K., S.A., P.B., and A.V.K. Methodology: M.D.R.K. and S.A., P.B., and A.V.K. Investigation: M.D.R.K., S.A., and N.D. Funding acquisition: P.T.E., A.P., K.N., P.B., and A.V.K. Supervision: P.T.E., A.P., K.N., P.B., and A.V.K. Writing: M.D.R.K, S.A., N.D., P.B., and A.V.K.

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Correspondence to Amit V. Khera .

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The authors declare no competing non-financial interests, but the following competing financial interests: M.D.R.K., N.D., A.P., and P.B. are supported by grants from Bayer AG applying machine learning in cardiovascular disease. S.A. has served as a scientific consultant to Third Rock Ventures. P.T.E. receives sponsored research support from Bayer AG and has consulted for Bayer AG, Novartis, MyoKardia and Quest Diagnostics. A.P. is also employed as a Venture Partner at GV and consulted for Novartis; and has received funding from Intel, Verily and MSFT. K.N. is an employee of IBM Research. P.B serves as a consultant for Novartis. A.V.K. is an employee and holds equity in Verve Therapeutics; has served as a scientific advisor to Amgen, Maze Therapeutics, Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Sarepta Therapeutics, Novartis, Silence Therapeutics, Korro Bio, Veritas International, Color Health, Third Rock Ventures, Illumina, Foresite Labs, and Columbia University (NIH); received speaking fees from Illumina, MedGenome, Amgen, and the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research; and received a sponsored research agreement from IBM Research.

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Klarqvist, M.D.R., Agrawal, S., Diamant, N. et al. Silhouette images enable estimation of body fat distribution and associated cardiometabolic risk. npj Digit. Med. 5 , 105 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00654-1

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00654-1

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