Two percent body fat is the barest essential minimum needed for organs to properly function. 6-7% body fat: This level isn't as extreme as the competition bodybuilder level. However, this level is still very difficult to maintain and not easily sustainable.
According to this research paper, men who are between 20-40 years old with under 8% body fat are considered “underfat”, whereas a “healthy” range is described as between 8-19%. For women in this same age group, any level under 21% is “underfat” and 21-33% is considered “healthy”.
Body Fat Percentage Men 6-7%
This 6-7% body fat level, which is achieved by many male fitness models when doing photoshoots, is characterized by muscle definition in all muscles and clear vascularity in most muscles including arms, legs, and even abs. Vascularity over the abs muscle is a sign of very low body fat.
As a general rule of thumb, 10 per cent body fat is the safest place to be. You're lean enough to show muscle — including your six-pack — and you can see your veins from your shoulders to your hands, but you're not so shredded that you're becoming translucent.
Why It's Not Humanly Possible to Have Less Than 1 Percent Body Fat. You need fat to function. Professional bodybuilders are known for having seriously low body fat.
It can safely go as low as 10% for women and 3% for men, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
The body fat percentage needed to see your pack of abdominal muscles falls somewhere around 14 to 20% for women and 6 to 13% for men.
Ideal Body-Fat Percentage for Women
Though fitness competitors may aim for lower levels, anything below 15 percent simply can't be sustained for the long term without health risks.
Well, it's simple - Just don't aim for single-digit body fat percentages! For most individuals, who are actively and consistently weight training over a couple of years, maintaining 9-12% body fat year-round would be relatively sustainable.
Eat More Protein
If you want to achieve 7% body fat, the chances are you want some muscle to show off when you're looking that lean. Protein is absolutely key for the building and repairing of muscles. Not only will it contribute to your lean gains, but it will also help you preserve muscle mass while you're dieting.
Scott Butsch, director of obesity medicine at the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, told Newsweek that it depends on the amount of weight lost. "Health benefits occur with 5 to 7 percent body weight loss and this is probably where we begin to see changes in the appearance of others."
The ideal male body set by the men (BMI = 25.9, WHR = 0.87, WCR = 0.74) was very similar to the ideal partner set by the women (BMI = 24.5, WHR = 0.86, WCR = 0.77). This was a lower BMI than the actual BMI of roughly half of the men and a higher BMI than the other half.
“You just can't be. You wouldn't survive.” But it is possible to get down to so little body fat it becomes unmeasurable by standard methods, Columbia's Garber said. Pinching the skin to measure the thickness of fat just below the surface is the most common way of measuring body fat percentage, she said.
For a man with average genetics and a healthy lifestyle, 14-20 percent is a great, sustainable body fat. It's lean enough to show some decent muscle definition, but high enough that you can build strength and muscle and enjoy your life without strict diets. For a woman, a similar range would be around 21-28 percent.
It's much easier to maintain 10-15% body fat compared to 5%, in fact, I've found that when you go into single digits (9% and lower) your quality of life suffers significantly. You see these fitness models on stage smiling, flexing their tanned, sculpted muscles but deep down they are feeling cr*p!
Decrease Body fat percentage.
For a visible jawline to humans, 12 to 14% of body fat is required. If you're determined to improve your jawline, you'll need to reduce your body fat.
“Genetically, some people may have more pronounced grooves than others, but you'll notice in the photos of these models, who are very lean, they don't actually have very developed abs,” says Orbeck. “They just have the groove, which means they are leaner than they are stronger in their core.”
“While a strong core is important for stability and functional movement, visible abdominal muscles should not be the sole measure of fitness. In fact, for some individuals, a pursuit of six-pack abs may indicate an unhealthy relationship with food or an overly restrictive diet.
Clinically underweight or dangerously skinny for a man would be: A BMI of 15, 16, 17, or 18. A weight of 100–120 pounds (46–55kg)
Your Energy Levels Plummet
“When you are fat-depleted, you have no reserve energy stores and your body cannot perform at optimal levels due to the fact that it is starving of energy,” Campbell says.
One solution: strive to lose some weight. Weight loss, it turns out, boosts your testosterone levels. In fact, if you're overweight (or obese) and have low T levels, taking off some of those pounds is one of the best things you can do to get higher T levels.