BMI of 25 associated with an average of 24% body fat in men, 36% in women

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Sunday, March 13, 2005 9:00 am Email this article
At a body mass index (BMI) of 25, the cutoff for normal weight, men have an average of 24 percent body fat or about 42 pounds of fat, whereas women have an average of 36 percent fat or about 55 pounds of fat according to a study from Sweden. Waist at BMI of 25, 35 inches for men, 33 inches for women

The average waist for a man with a BMI of 25 is about 35 inches, whereas for a woman it is about 33 inches.

Age increases body fat and belly fat

The older people get, the higher their percent body fat and the more belly fat they have.

Subjects: 1135 people followed for five years

The study measured changes over a five year period, from 1994 to 1999, in 524 men and 611 women who were 37- to 61-years-old and had a BMI of 17.6 to 45.4.

Conclusion

“At given BMIs, women had more [body fat] but smaller waist circumference than men,” the authors concluded.

BMI Table

A BMI Table can be found here.

REFERENCE

Larsson I, Berteus Forslund H, Lindroos A, Lissner L, Naslund I, Peltonen M, Sjostrom L. Body composition in the sos (swedish obese subjects) reference study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Oct, 28(10):1317-1324.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Lars Sjostrom
Department of Body Composition and Metabolism
Sahlgrenska Academy at Goteborg University
SE 41345 Goteborg, Sweden
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Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Aging

• Body Composition