United States · Guide · Updated 2026-10-14
Body fat percentage: healthy ranges by age for men and women
Gallagher and colleagues measured 1626 adults. Table 4 predicts 8 percent body fat in men and 21 percent in women at ages 20 to 39 when BMI is under 18.5, and 20 and 33 percent when BMI is 25 or higher. The authors call these ranges provisional. CDC says BMI itself is not a diagnosis. Medical review in progress.
What a body fat percentage chart is
A body fat percentage is the share of body weight that is fat. A chart only helps if it says whose bodies were measured, with which method, and at which age. The chart on this page is not a fitness-magazine band and not a diagnosis.
In 2000, Gallagher, Heymsfield, Heo, Jebb, Murgatroyd, and Sakamoto published an approach in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (DOI 10.1093/ajcn/72.3.694, PMID 10966886). They wrote that no accepted published ranges of percentage body fat existed at the time. Their idea was to predict percent fat at the BMI limits already set by the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization.
The sample was a convenient group of 1626 adults with a BMI of 35 or below, measured in New York, Cambridge, and Tokyo. The groups were white, African American, and Asian. People with recent weight change, acute or chronic illness, or a physical training program were excluded. The authors called the ranges provisional. They also wrote that the focus of the study was not to establish definitive body fat ranges.
Body fat percentage chart for men and women
| Sex and age | BMI under 18.5 | BMI 25 or higher | BMI 30 or higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women, 20 to 39 | 21% | 33% | 39% |
| Women, 40 to 59 | 23% | 34% | 40% |
| Women, 60 to 79 | 24% | 36% | 42% |
| Men, 20 to 39 | 8% | 20% | 25% |
| Men, 40 to 59 | 11% | 22% | 28% |
| Men, 60 to 79 | 13% | 25% | 30% |
Read each cell as a predicted percent fat at that BMI line, not as a band such as 8 to 19. For women ages 20 to 39, the model predicts 21 percent fat when BMI is under 18.5, 33 percent when BMI is 25 or higher, and 39 percent when BMI is 30 or higher. For men in the same age band the three predictions are 8, 20, and 25 percent.
The authors combined African American and white adults in this table because the difference between those groups was about 1 to 2 percent fat. The equation they used for the combined group (their equation 5) had a multiple R of 0.86 and a standard error of the estimate of 4.98 percent fat. A prediction can miss a four-compartment measurement by several points. Sex in that equation was coded 1 for men and 0 for women.
Few people in the sample sat at the low end: only 2.6 percent of the men and 6.0 percent of the women had a BMI under 18.5. The authors wrote that the confidence intervals at that end are large, so the underweight column is the least stable part of the chart.
Body fat percentage by age
The same BMI line does not mean the same percent fat at 25 and at 70. In Table 4, men at a BMI of 25 or higher are predicted at 20 percent fat for ages 20 to 39, 22 percent for ages 40 to 59, and 25 percent for ages 60 to 79. Women at that same BMI line are predicted at 33, 34, and 36 percent.
The equations were centered on ages 30, 50, and 70, which is why the published table uses those three bands. There is no row for children, and there is no row past 79. The paper does not give a single healthy body fat percentage for every adult.
CDC’s adult BMI categories, updated 19 March 2024 and read on 14 October 2026, apply from age 20 and do not change the category for age, sex, or race. Underweight is a BMI under 18.5. Healthy weight is 18.5 to under 25. Overweight is 25 to under 30. Obesity is 30 or higher, with classes from 30 to under 35, 35 to under 40, and 40 or higher. CDC states that BMI is a screening measure, not a diagnosis of body fatness or of health, and that the calculator is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
CDC’s worked example is a person who is 5 feet 9 inches tall: 124 pounds or less is underweight, 125 to 168 pounds is healthy weight, 169 to 202 pounds is overweight, and 203 pounds or more is obesity. Those pounds are BMI boundaries. They are not body fat percentages.
Why one chart does not fit every adult
| Group | BMI under 18.5 | BMI 25 or higher | BMI 30 or higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| White women, 20 to 39 | 21% | 33% | 39% |
| White women, 40 to 59 | 23% | 35% | 41% |
| White women, 60 to 79 | 25% | 38% | 43% |
| African American women, 20 to 39 | 20% | 32% | 38% |
| African American women, 40 to 59 | 21% | 34% | 39% |
| African American women, 60 to 79 | 23% | 35% | 41% |
| White men, 20 to 39 | 8% | 21% | 26% |
| White men, 40 to 59 | 11% | 23% | 29% |
| White men, 60 to 79 | 13% | 25% | 31% |
| African American men, 20 to 39 | 8% | 20% | 26% |
| African American men, 40 to 59 | 9% | 22% | 27% |
| African American men, 60 to 79 | 11% | 23% | 29% |
The separate columns are close, which is why Table 4 exists, and they are not identical. A white woman aged 60 to 79 is predicted at 38 percent fat when BMI is 25 or higher. An African American woman in that age band is predicted at 35 percent at the same BMI line.
Asian adults were not folded into Table 4. The authors wrote that a universal body fat range cannot be easily developed. Their Table 5 uses separate equations for Asian women and Asian men. They also note that Table 5 differs slightly from the Asian column of Table 3, so the two Asian rows are not interchangeable.
Asian adults in the same study
| Sex and age | BMI under 18.5 | BMI 25 or higher | BMI 30 or higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian women, 20 to 39 | 25% | 35% | 40% |
| Asian women, 40 to 59 | 25% | 35% | 41% |
| Asian women, 60 to 79 | 25% | 36% | 41% |
| Asian men, 20 to 39 | 13% | 23% | 28% |
| Asian men, 40 to 59 | 13% | 24% | 29% |
| Asian men, 60 to 79 | 14% | 24% | 29% |
At ages 20 to 39 and a BMI of 25 or higher, Table 5 predicts 35 percent fat for Asian women and 23 percent for Asian men. Table 4, for African American and white adults combined, predicts 33 percent and 20 percent at that same age and BMI line. Using one number for every reader would hide that difference.
The Asian sample was measured in Tokyo. The paper does not claim these rows describe every Asian ancestry, and it does not include Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, or multiracial groups.
Athletes and a body fat percentage for people who train
This study excluded people in physical training programs. The introduction notes that some people who are overweight are not overfat, and gives bodybuilders as the example, but it does not print an athlete chart.
A consumer chart that labels essential fat, athletes, fitness, average, and obesity was not read from its original publisher for this page, so those bands are not repeated here. If a coach or a clinician uses a different cutoff for a sport, that cutoff is not Table 4.
The authors also wrote that there was no consensus linking percent fat itself to illness and death, because the right prospective studies were not available. The chart is tied to BMI limits. It is not a study of athletic performance.
How body fat percentage is calculated in this paper
The numbers above are predictions from regression equations, not a reading you compute with a tape and a calculator on this page. The independent variables were 1/BMI, sex, age, and ethnic group. Across their models, R ranged from 0.74 to 0.92 and the standard error of the estimate ranged from 2.8 to 5.4 percent fat.
The equations in the HTML full text were images without alternative text when this page was written, so the coefficients are not retyped here. Reprinting a formula from memory would invent it. The published tables are the usable output.
People who ask how to find body fat percentage, how to find out body fat percentage, or how to compute body fat percentage are usually looking for a formula they can run at home. This paper's usable output is the chart. A female body fat percentage and a male body fat percentage are the separate rows above, not one number. The healthiest body fat percentage and a perfect body fat percentage are not named in the study. Skinfold calipers for body fat percentage, and a DEXA body fat percentage from a clinic, are different objects from these predicted cells.
A body fat percentage calculator that would apply these equations in the browser is not published on this site yet. Until it is, the chart above is the reference, and a scale or a lab still has to measure the person.
DEXA scan body fat percentage, and what this table used
Two reference methods were used. A four-compartment model was used at two of the laboratories. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA, also written DEXA) was used at all three. Tables 4 and 5 on this page are the four-compartment predictions.
The paper also built DXA prediction tables and reported some notable differences from the four-compartment values. Those DXA table cells are not copied here, because this page prints the four-compartment cutoffs the authors used for the ranges they discuss.
A DEXA scan body fat percentage from a clinic is a measurement of one person on one machine. It is not the same object as a predicted percent at a BMI cutoff. Different machines and different software do not have to agree to the tenth of a percent. This page does not rank clinics or quote a price for a scan.
Skinfold calipers, a home scale, and a lab value
Skinfold calipers estimate subcutaneous fat at a few sites and then use a formula. Gallagher and colleagues wrote that methods of limited accuracy, such as anthropometry, are typically used in population surveys, and they did not build Table 4 from calipers. A caliper percent and a four-compartment percent can differ by more than the chart’s rounding.
A bathroom scale that reports fat mass is usually using bioelectrical impedance. That is a third method. It is not DXA and it is not the four-compartment model. Hydration, a recent meal, skin temperature, and which equation the scale uses can move the number. This page does not assign a fixed error, such as one or two points, to every scale.
On 14 October 2026 the Chutex Vita page listed a one-time price of $199, with no VAT. It describes eight electrodes, weight plus 12 or more parameters including fat mass, visceral fat, muscle mass, water, BMI, basal metabolic rate, metabolic age, and bone mass, a sync on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and up to eight profiles. The same page says Vita is a wellness device, is not FDA-cleared for diagnosis, and is not a subscription. Physician teleconsultation on that page is available in France only. In the United States, an emergency is 911, and questions about a result belong with the clinician the person already uses.
A Vita fat-mass estimate is not a Gallagher Table 4 value. The scale can track a person’s own series. It does not turn that series into the cutoffs in the tables above.
Healthy, normal, ideal, and how to lose body fat
Healthy, in this paper, means the percent fat predicted at the BMI lines those agencies already called the lower healthy limit, overweight, and obesity. It does not mean an ideal, a perfect score, or a target for a photoshoot. The authors wrote that the approach was groundwork, not a finished international standard.
NIDDK’s page on the health risks of overweight and obesity, read on 14 October 2026, says overweight and obesity may increase the risk of many health problems, especially with extra fat around the waist. The conditions it lists include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. That page is about weight status. It does not assign those diseases to a Gallagher percent-fat cell.
A normal body fat percentage is sometimes used to mean the middle of a population. This study did not publish population percentiles as the recommended chart. Asking for a good body fat percentage for men or for women still needs the age band and which table applies.
The paper is not a weight-loss protocol. It does not prescribe a calorie target, a diet, a training plan, or a rate of loss. CDC’s BMI page tells adults with questions to talk with a health care provider. A person who wants to lose body fat needs that conversation, plus a method that is repeated the same way, rather than a single comparison with Table 4.
This page is informational. It is not medical advice, and a Chutex product is not a medical device. Medical review of this guide is in progress. No named reviewer is listed.
Frequently asked questions
What is a healthy body fat percentage?
Gallagher et al. (2000) did not publish one healthy number. For African American and white adults combined, Table 4 predicts the percent fat at a BMI under 18.5, at 25 or higher, and at 30 or higher. At ages 20 to 39 those predictions are 21, 33, and 39 percent for women, and 8, 20, and 25 percent for men. The authors called the ranges provisional.
What is a normal body fat percentage for women?
For women ages 20 to 39, Table 4 predicts 21 percent fat at a BMI under 18.5 and 33 percent at a BMI of 25 or higher. The same BMI of 25 or higher is 34 percent at ages 40 to 59 and 36 percent at ages 60 to 79. Asian women in Table 5 are predicted at 35 percent at ages 20 to 39 when BMI is 25 or higher. There is no single normal.
What is a good body fat percentage for men?
For men ages 20 to 39, Table 4 predicts 8 percent fat at a BMI under 18.5, 20 percent at a BMI of 25 or higher, and 25 percent at a BMI of 30 or higher. At ages 60 to 79 those three predictions are 13, 25, and 30 percent. A good number still depends on age, the table that fits, and a measurement method. It is not a diagnosis.
What is the ideal body fat percentage?
The 2000 paper says no accepted published body fat ranges existed, and it does not name an ideal or a perfect percent. The values are predictions at BMI cutoffs, with a standard error of 4.98 percent fat on the combined equation. Treating one cell as a personal target overreads the study.
How do you calculate body fat percentage?
In this study, percent fat was predicted from 1/BMI, sex, age, and ethnic group. The equation images had no alternative text in the full text we read, so the coefficients are not reprinted. A four-compartment model or a DXA scan measures a person. A tape-measure formula, a caliper formula, and a scale formula are different calculations.
What does a DEXA scan body fat percentage mean next to this chart?
DXA was used at all three laboratories, and the four-compartment model at two. The tables printed here are four-compartment predictions at BMI cutoffs, not a clinic’s DXA printout. The authors reported notable differences between DXA-based predictions and four-compartment predictions. A scan of one person should be read with the clinic that performed it.
Are skinfold calipers the same as this body fat chart?
No. Table 4 comes from reference methods and a BMI equation, not from skinfold calipers. The paper notes that anthropometry is a limited-accuracy method often used in surveys. A caliper result can be tracked over time if the same sites and the same formula are used. It should not be forced into a Table 4 cell.
How do I lose body fat?
Gallagher 2000 is not a diet or an exercise plan, and this page does not invent a calorie target. CDC describes BMI as a screening measure and points adults with questions to a health care provider. Repeating one measurement method matters more than matching a single predicted percent. For an emergency in the United States, call 911.
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