Calculate your body fat percentage. Enter your sex, height, weight, and age to estimate your body fat percentage.

Body Fat Calculator

Enter the required values to calculate your Body Fat Percentage.

This equation uses sex-specific research coefficients and may be less accurate for some individuals.

Medical disclaimer: This calculator provides an educational estimate (not medical advice or a diagnosis). It may be inaccurate for children/teens, pregnancy, very muscular individuals, fluid retention/edema, and at very high/low body weight. If your estimate is very low or very high, or you have concerns (including a history of disordered eating), discuss results with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian and avoid using a single number as your only health target.

How to calculate body fat

The most accurate ways to measure body fat require specialized testing, such as DEXA scans, hydrostatic (underwater) weighing, or air-displacement plethysmography (Bod Pod). However, you can still estimate body fat percentage using formulas based on simple measurements. This calculator uses a BMI- and age-based equation (the Deurenberg formula), which can be useful for general estimates but may be less accurate for very muscular people, older adults, or people whose body composition differs from the populations used to develop the formula. In research settings, errors are often on the order of a few percentage points on average, but individual error can be larger.

Healthy Body Fat

Body fat percentage is one useful indicator of body composition, and higher body fat (especially abdominal/visceral fat) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. That said, no single number perfectly describes overall health—fitness level, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and many other factors also matter.

Too little body fat can also be unhealthy. Minimum “essential fat” levels are often cited as roughly 2–5% for men and 10–13% for women, and most adults feel and perform best at higher levels than the minimum. Commonly cited healthy/fitness ranges for many adults are roughly 10–20% for men and 18–28% for women, with some variation by age, genetics, and training goals. Competitive athletes may be leaner during certain periods, but maintaining very low body fat long-term isn’t ideal for everyone.

Another consideration for body fat is genetics. A healthy level of body fat can vary between people, and individuals also differ in how easily they gain fat and where they tend to store it (for example, more around the abdomen vs. hips and thighs).

Body Fat Percentage

Body fat % is one of the more informative measures of body composition related to weight. The following list outlines commonly cited body fat ranges for adults (note that different organizations use slightly different cutoffs, and athletic populations may fall outside these ranges). 

Description  Women        Men

Essential fat  10–13%       2–5%

Very lean       14–20%       6–13%

Lean               21–24%       14–17%

Normal           25–31%       18–24%

Overweight    32–39%       25–29%

Obese          40% or more 30% or more

There is still debate on the “best” body fat percentage for any one individual, but many people fall into the lean/normal ranges when they are generally healthy and physically active. These categories are general reference ranges commonly shown in fitness/health charts (for example, American Council on Exercise), cutoffs vary by organization, and they are not a medical diagnosis. 

This does not include athletes, which may require lower body fat percentages to compete at the highest level in some sports. 

What do these body fat percentages look like? 

Alright, you’ve figured out your estimated body fat % based on this calculation, but what do those percentages tend to look like? Below are examples of individuals at different body fat percentages. 

You may be thinking: “I calculated my body fat % to be similar to the examples, but I don’t look the same.” (1) This calculator provides an estimate, so it won’t be exact for everyone. (2) Muscle mass and where you store fat can drastically affect how you look at the same body fat percentage. 

Body Fat and Your Health

While it is true that body fat is essential for many functions in the human body, higher levels of body fat—especially abdominal/visceral fat—are associated with increased risk of a host of health issues. These issues include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • high blood pressure
  • Heart disease and strokes
  • certain types of cancer
  • sleep apnea
  • osteoarthritis
  • fatty liver disease
  • kidney disease
  • pregnancy issues

Being overweight should not be taken lightly. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. For evidence-based guidance on obesity-related health risks, check public health resources such as the CDC or NIH websites. 

If you do find yourself on the heavier side, it’s never too late to make health improvements. A sustainable approach to nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress management can improve both physical health and mental well-being. Regular exercise is associated with reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety for many people, but it isn’t a replacement for professional medical care or prescribed treatment when needed.