Body Fat Percentage Chart for Men and Women
Many body fat charts online use fitness-industry tiers without a stated data source. This one is built from what Americans actually measure: CDC’s DXA body scans, the most widely accepted way to measure body composition. We checked our method by reproducing a peer-reviewed analysis of the same scans to the decimal.
Where does your body fat rank?
Compare your body fat percentage with Americans of your sex and age, measured by CDC body scans.
The average American man aged 20–59 has 27.2% body fat and the average woman 38.7%, measured by DXA body scans in CDC’s 2011–2018 surveys. Body fat rises with age, from 25.4% in men in their 20s to 28.4% in their 50s, and from 36.9% to 40.3% in women. Provisional healthy ranges matched to BMI are 8–19.9% for men and 21–32.9% for women aged 20–39.
Source: our calculation from CDC NHANES DXA body scans, 2011–2018; healthy ranges from Gallagher et al., 2000.
Body fat percentage chart by age
Women carry more body fat than men at every age, and both rise through adulthood. Among adults, the average climbs about 2.9 points for men and 3.4 points for women between their 20s and 50s. Children show the opposite pattern by sex: boys’ body fat falls through the teens while girls’ rises.
Men and boys
Women and girls
- 10th–90th percentile
- 25th–75th
- Median
Body fat percentage for men
Half of US men aged 20–39 are between 21.6% and 30.8% body fat; the leanest tenth are under 17.7%. The table gives each age group’s spread, so you can see what’s typical for your age rather than for an athlete.
| Age | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Average | People scanned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 16.4% | 20.0% | 24.8% | 30.4% | 35.1% | 25.4% | 1,430 |
| 30–39 | 20.0% | 23.6% | 27.2% | 31.1% | 35.0% | 27.4% | 1,370 |
| 40–49 | 22.0% | 24.7% | 28.0% | 31.5% | 34.3% | 28.1% | 1,304 |
| 50–59 | 21.7% | 25.0% | 28.3% | 31.7% | 35.4% | 28.4% | 1,298 |
| 8–11 | 20.2% | 23.1% | 28.0% | 34.7% | 39.8% | 29.2% | 1,420 |
| 12–15 | 16.7% | 19.1% | 24.2% | 32.3% | 38.7% | 26.1% | 1,162 |
| 16–19 | 15.5% | 17.6% | 21.1% | 28.5% | 33.9% | 23.4% | 1,029 |
Body fat percentage for women
Half of US women aged 20–39 are between 32.9% and 42.3% body fat; the leanest tenth are under 28.3%. Their provisional healthy ranges sit 11 to 13 points above men’s at every age.
| Age | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | Average | People scanned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 27.7% | 32.1% | 37.4% | 41.9% | 45.8% | 36.9% | 1,308 |
| 30–39 | 29.2% | 34.2% | 38.9% | 42.8% | 46.2% | 38.2% | 1,321 |
| 40–49 | 31.0% | 35.5% | 39.7% | 43.4% | 46.6% | 39.2% | 1,452 |
| 50–59 | 32.4% | 36.9% | 41.1% | 44.4% | 47.2% | 40.3% | 1,381 |
| 8–11 | 23.9% | 27.4% | 31.7% | 37.5% | 42.0% | 32.5% | 1,370 |
| 12–15 | 25.4% | 28.3% | 33.1% | 38.3% | 42.5% | 33.5% | 1,000 |
| 16–19 | 26.6% | 30.9% | 34.7% | 40.4% | 44.4% | 35.3% | 988 |
What your body fat percentage means
Many people search a single number — “is 20% body fat good for a man?” These tables answer it with real data: the share of US adults your sex and age with more body fat than that number.
| Body fat | Men 20–39 with more | Men 40–59 with more |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 99% | 99% |
| 12% | 99% | 99% |
| 15% | 97% | 99% |
| 18% | 89% | 96% |
| 20% | 82% | 94% |
| 22% | 74% | 90% |
| 25% | 57% | 74% |
| 28% | 39% | 52% |
| 30% | 30% | 36% |
| 35% | 10% | 10% |
| Body fat | Women 20–39 with more | Women 40–59 with more |
|---|---|---|
| 18% | 99% | 99% |
| 20% | 99% | 99% |
| 22% | 99% | 99% |
| 25% | 96% | 99% |
| 28% | 91% | 96% |
| 30% | 85% | 94% |
| 32% | 78% | 89% |
| 35% | 66% | 80% |
| 40% | 38% | 52% |
| 45% | 13% | 20% |
Our calculation from NHANES 2011–2018 DXA scans. Example: a man aged 20–39 at 15% body fat has less body fat than 97% of US men his age.
Healthy body fat percentage
There is no official body fat standard; the most cited ranges are provisional. In 2000, Gallagher and colleagues predicted the body fat that matches each BMI cut-off by age and sex. Those ranges are below, with a caution: they come from a different measurement setup than CDC’s scans, and they differ by ethnic group, so use them as a guide, not a diagnosis. The median American adult in our data sits above the healthy band for their age.
| Low (BMI under 18.5) | Healthy (BMI 18.5–24.9) | High (BMI 25–29.9) | Very high (BMI 30+) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women 20–39 | under 21% | 21–32.9% | 33–38.9% | 39% or more |
| Women 40–59 | under 23% | 23–33.9% | 34–39.9% | 40% or more |
| Women 60–79 | under 24% | 24–35.9% | 36–41.9% | 42% or more |
| Men 20–39 | under 8% | 8–19.9% | 20–24.9% | 25% or more |
| Men 40–59 | under 11% | 11–21.9% | 22–27.9% | 28% or more |
| Men 60–79 | under 13% | 13–24.9% | 25–29.9% | 30% or more |
Source: Gallagher D, et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;72:694–701, ranges as tabulated in J Public Health Afr 2016, Table 1.
Body fat vs BMI
BMI and body fat track each other, but loosely. Among men with a healthy BMI (18.5–24.9), body fat ranged widely: the middle half sat between 18.6% and 25.0%. Among men with a BMI of 30 or more, the middle half was 28.7–35.1%. For women, the same comparison is 29.8–36.5% versus 41.3–46.4%. More on this in body fat vs BMI; to calculate your BMI, use our BMI calculator.
Men 20–59
Women 20–59
- Middle half (25th–75th percentile)
- Median; whiskers 10th–90th
FAQ
What is the average body fat percentage?
27.2% for US men and 38.7% for US women aged 20–59, measured by DXA scans in 2011–2018.
What is a healthy body fat percentage for men?
The provisional ranges matched to a healthy BMI are 8–19.9% at ages 20–39, 11–21.9% at 40–59 and 13–24.9% at 60–79 (Gallagher et al., 2000).
What is a healthy body fat percentage for women?
21–32.9% at ages 20–39, 23–33.9% at 40–59 and 24–35.9% at 60–79 (Gallagher et al., 2000). These are provisional and vary by ethnic group.
Is 20% body fat good for a man?
It is just above the provisional healthy range for men 20–39 (8–19.9%) and inside it for men 40–59 (11–21.9%). It is leaner than most: 82% of US men aged 20–39 have more body fat.
Is 30% body fat good for a woman?
It is inside the provisional healthy range for women aged 20–59, and 85% of US women aged 20–39 have more body fat.
Why is there no data for people over 60?
CDC’s whole-body DXA scans in 2011–2018 covered ages 8–59 only. For ages 60–79 we show the provisional ranges, not population data.
How we calculated this
We pooled CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles 2011–2012 through 2017–2018: the whole-body DXA scan files, the demographics files and the body measures files. We kept valid scans, excluded pregnant women, and used CDC’s exam weights divided by four, as CDC’s guidelines advise when combining four cycles. Standard errors use the survey’s strata and primary sampling units. CDC notes its scan software adds 5% of lean mass to fat mass, so results from other devices may not match exactly.
Check against published research: using the same age adjustment as Liu et al., BMJ 2021, our figures reproduce their mean body fat for every cycle (32.6%, 33.1%, 32.9% and 33.0%) from the identical sample of 10,864 adults.
- National Center for Health Statistics. NHANES Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry, Whole Body (DXX_G, DXX_H, DXX_I, DXX_J), with demographics and body measures files, 2011–2018.
- Liu B, et al. Trends in obesity and adiposity measures by race or ethnicity among adults in the United States 2011-18. BMJ 2021;372:n365.
- Gallagher D, et al. Healthy percentage body fat ranges: an approach for developing guidelines based on body mass index. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;72:694–701.
- Interpreting the body fat percentage result (Table 1). J Public Health Afr 2016;7:515.
Download: body fat percentiles by sex and age (CSV). Free to reuse with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0).
This page describes populations, not individuals. It is not medical advice.