GB

Proportion of Body Fat

Whilst the proportion of body fat in % is shown in the display, one of the 9 seg- ments appears in the bar below it. Too much body fat is unhealthy and does not look nice. What is more important is that a high proportion of body fat is also usually associated with a raised proportion of fat in the blood and this increases greatly the risk of various ill- nesses such as for instance diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure etc. But a very low proportion of body fat is equally unhealthy.

Apart from the fatty tissue under the skin, the body also stores important fat deposits for the protection of the inter- nal organs and to ensure important metabolic func- tions. If this essential fat reserve is compromised, this can lead to metabolic distur- bance.

So for instance in women with body fat figures of under 10%, menstruation may cease. In addition, the risk of osteoporosis increases. The normal proportion of body fat is dependent on age and above all on sex.

In women the normal figure is about 10% higher than in men. With increasing age the body loses muscle mass and so the proportion of body fat increases.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Difference compared with your individual standard value

1< - 12 % very low proportion of fat

2- 12 % low proportion of fat

3 - 7 %

4

- 3 % normal proportion of fat

50 %

6 + 3 %

7

+ 7 % high proportion of fat

8+ 12 %

9> + 12 % very high proportion of fat

Example:

Actual body fat proportion calculated = 31.3 % of total weight.

This value is about 7 % above the calculated individual stan- dard value.

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Soehnle FT 5 manual Proportion of Body Fat