Body

Caring for the human body

Let’s give fat a little bit of credit: the human body could not survive without it. It is the body’s fuel. Just as a car could not run its motor without gasoline, the body could not continue breathing, brain functions or blood flow if it did not have some fat available to burn.

Nor could it repair its body cells. When cells die or are damaged, remaining ones must replicate to replace them. This would not happen without fat. So it goes also for building muscle—body building would be a waste of one’s time and energy if one did not have fat molecules available for conversion into energy and fuel for building muscle tissue. It is nature’s easiest-to-find body-building supplement.

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Other functions of body fat include maintaining healthy skin and hair, keeping body temperature constant, smooth functioning of all the body’s cells, cushioning organs and tissues, acting as a shock absorber for bones, facilitating the body’s absorption of many important vitamins and boosting immunity.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Body fat is healthy so long as one does not carry too much of it. An excess accumulation of it can lead to breathing difficulties, arthritis, heart disease and other ailments. Not to mention that many other people will find it unattractive.

Keeping a Tab on Your Body Fat

The healthy body fat percentage, the percent of a person’s weight that comprises fat, varies depending on a person’s gender and age. The American Council on Exercise says that 10 to 20 percent is ideal for a man between 20 and 30 years old, and 19 to 23 percent for a man between 40 and 60 years old. Women’s percentages need to be slightly higher: 19 to 26 percent for a woman 20 to 40 years old, and 23 to 30 percent for a woman 40 to 60 years old.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is another standard measure for body weight. You obtain your BMI by dividing your weight by your height. Unlike body fat percentage, the range of healthy BMI is the same for men and women: according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 18.5 to 24.9 BMI.