Healthy body fat percentage
The ACE body fat chart for men and women, why a healthy range differs by sex, age and ethnicity, why BMI can mislead, and how accurate a scanner reading is. UnReal Gym Bangkok.
By the UnReal Gym Bangkok team. Updated 2026-10-06.
Short answer
There is no single official healthy range. A widely used chart from the American Council on Exercise puts fitness at 14 to 17 percent for men and 21 to 24 for women, and average at 18 to 24 and 25 to 31. Sex, age and ethnicity shift the right number, and any scanner adds a few points of error.
What is a healthy body fat percentage?
It depends on who you are and how you train. Gallagher and colleagues wrote in 2000 that no accepted published ranges existed, and ranges still vary by source. The chart most gyms quote is from the American Council on Exercise (ACE):
| Category | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Essential fat | 2 to 5% | 10 to 13% |
| Athletes | 6 to 13% | 14 to 20% |
| Fitness | 14 to 17% | 21 to 24% |
| Average | 18 to 24% | 25 to 31% |
| Obese | 25% and above | 32% and above |
We read this chart on 6 October 2026 as printed in TomTom's fitness band manual, which credits ACE and notes that the table gives generic estimates and that you should consult your physician for guidelines that fit you. We could not open ACE's own copy of the table, so check ACE if you need the original wording.
The top row is not a target. ACE labels it essential fat, the lowest amount the chart lists. Do not diet toward it without a coach or a doctor.
Why does a healthy range differ between people?
Because the same BMI hides different amounts of fat. Gallagher and colleagues (2000) measured body fat with reference methods (a four compartment model and DXA) in 1,626 adults from white, African American and Asian groups, with BMIs up to 35. Sex, age and ethnic group were all independent predictors of percentage body fat at a given BMI, and the prediction error was 2.8 to 5.4 percentage points of fat.
They concluded that their approach gives a groundwork for healthy ranges, not a final table. That is the honest state of the field: ranges are provisional.
Is BMI or body fat percentage a better measure?
Neither is complete, and they answer different questions. BMI is weight divided by height squared. It cannot tell muscle from fat. Body fat percentage tries to, which is why an InBody sheet shows both.
A World Health Organization expert consultation (2004) reviewed evidence that Asian populations have different associations between BMI, percentage body fat and health risk than European populations. It found the share of Asian people at high risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is substantial at BMIs below the standard overweight cut off of 25. It kept the international cut offs as the classification, and flagged extra action points at 23.0, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5 kg per square metre.
In Bangkok that means a BMI of 24 is not automatically "fine". It is also a reason to look at body fat and visceral fat, not weight alone. See visceral fat level explained.
How accurate is a body fat percentage from a scanner?
Accurate enough to track change, not accurate to the decimal. In the McLester study (2020) of three InBody models against DXA in 67 healthy adults, the devices underestimated body fat percentage compared with DXA, and the smallest difference between two scans that exceeded measurement error was 2.12 to 2.73 percentage points.
In the 2023 Nickerson study of 130 adults, the InBody 570, DXA and a rapid four compartment model all fell within about plus or minus 4.9 to 5.2 percentage points of a criterion model at the 95 percent limits.
Practical reading: a scan that says 22 percent could reasonably be a few points either way compared with another method. Use the same machine under the same conditions, as in how often to measure body composition.
How do you lower your body fat percentage?
Fat loss is driven by a sustained calorie deficit, according to the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position stand on diets and body composition. It adds that the higher your starting body fat, the more aggressively a deficit may be applied, and that slower rates of loss can better preserve lean mass in leaner people.
Keeping muscle while you do it takes resistance training and enough protein: the ISSN protein position stand gives 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day as sufficient for most exercising people. Our body recomposition guide covers the combination, and a coach can set it up in nutrition coaching.
Sources
- American Council on Exercise body fat chart, as reproduced in TomTom's ACE Body Composition Percentage Chart (read 2026-10-06).
- Gallagher D and others. Healthy percentage body fat ranges: an approach for developing guidelines based on body mass index. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000.
- WHO Expert Consultation. Appropriate body mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. The Lancet, 2004.
- McLester CN and others. Reliability and agreement of various InBody body composition analyzers as compared to dual energy X ray absorptiometry in healthy men and women. Journal of Clinical Densitometry, 2020.
- Nickerson BS and others. Evaluation of a rapid four compartment model and stand alone methods in Hispanic adults. Journal of Nutrition, 2023.
- Aragon AA and others. ISSN position stand: diets and body composition. 2017. Jäger R and others. ISSN position stand: protein and exercise. 2017.
This page is general information, not medical advice.
Updated 2026-10-06