One of the most positive shifts to occur in the fitness industry as of late is the increased attention on body composition rather than just body weight. Considering the different elements of what makes up body weight and understanding how best to influence them is valuable knowledge when the aim is to improve overall health and fitness. For too long, individuals placed an unnecessary amount of focus on just body weight and how best to reduce it, however this single-track method often results in a loss of vital muscle tissue which of course, on a scale, shows as a loss of body weight. The outcome that is often desired in this scenario is a reduction in body fat.

Body fat percentage is the percentage of total body weight that consists of adipose tissue. Typically, when we think of body fat the connotations are negative as excess body fat is considered unsightly and is often linked with Ill health. In truth, body fat plays a key role in maintaining optimum health and wellbeing, considering this, and like so many other things in life, this means there is often an optimum level and isn’t simply less body fat = better health.

Like so much of the modern world, the fitness industry has gone digital. Social media is awash with fitness influencers who appear to perpetuate the idea that it’s possible to walk around at very low body fat levels all year round without a detracting from wellbeing or performance. This is, in most cases, simply untrue. While excess levels of bodyfat will inevitably begin to adversely affect health and wellbeing the same can be true for lower levels of bodyfat also. 

The storage of adipose tissue and ratio to lean mass can be influenced by many factors including energy intake and expenditure, genetics and gender. Females tend to hold more bodyfat than males and their health is often optimised at a higher bodyfat percentage than their male counterpart. This ‘optimum’ amount will differ across individuals and can be influenced by age as well as the aforementioned lifestyle factors, for example, living in a country that has a predominantly cold climate would be best suited to an individual with a slightly higher bodyfat percentage as adipose tissue is incredibly insulating, whereas a keen runner of long distances would likely fair better in their chosen sport at a lower relative bodyfat percentage as performance in this sport favours a lower body weight and the ability to keep cool.

As mentioned before, the primary reason for many individuals starting a fitness and/or diet program is to ‘lose weight’ and even if adjustments are made to expectations that align more with body composition goals, it’s likely that there will still be a desire to ‘see abs’ or ‘tone up’. The truth is that many of these aesthetic orientated goals are largely achieved through the same process; reducing body fat to reveal the lean tissue underneath. A female that desires defined, visible abdominals for example, may in many cases (genetics depending) have to drop their body fat into the teens. While for a male this number will have to be somewhere in the ballpark of 15%. 15% body fat for a male will likely be maintainable and could very well be ‘optimum’ regarding hormonal health and for performance purposes in many sports however for a female this number could be very difficult to maintain and may even begin to adversely affect hormonal levels, disrupt sleep and performance, all ultimately detracting from overall health and wellbeing. In this instance a bodyfat percentage north of 20 would likely be more optimal, achievable and maintainable and would almost certainly still include the desired outcome aesthetically.

While these goals are perfectly fine to desire, it helps to understand the level of sacrifice and effort that will be required to achieve these targets and that in some cases, these efforts won’t contribute to improved, health, wellbeing or even performance and may even be detrimental to these.



When setting any goal relating to fitness, nutrition or a combination of the two, it’s always worth considering the achievability of the said target, weighing up the pros and cons and considering the why. Ultimately, goals that align with an improvement in your physical and mental wellbeing should take precedence and will often deliver a larger dose of achievement when accomplished.