Topic: Women and body fat percentage

If you believe what you see on TikTok, you may think 18 percent body fat is ideal for women. But a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research might surprise you.

Towson University researchers measured the body composition of 278 Division I female athletes—across 12 different sports—and found that, on average, these super-fit women weren’t really even close to 18 percent.[1]

Most came in between 25 and 30 percent body fat.

Another eye-opener: In a different study, scientists tracked 27 bikini and fitness competitors through their competition training.[2] The researchers report that the competitors averaged 12.7 percent body fat the morning after their event.

Let’s be very clear: That’s quite low.

But here’s something you might not expect: These same competitors were at an average of 23 percent body fat before they started their competition-specific training and dieting.

The point? Fitness competitors’ walking-around bodies are lean, but they’re not ultra-lean.

All of which goes to show: Those ideal body fat targets you see in fitspo posts? They’re often not based in reality.

But there’s also this: No one but YOU can know your ideal body fat.

That’s because the body composition you can maintain while eating, exercising, sleeping, and living in a way that helps you feel your best is probably the right body fat percentage for you.

1. PMID: 31343559

2. PMID: 28119632

1. Dobrosielski DA, Leppert KM, Knuth ND, Wilder JN, Kovacs L, Lisman PJ. Body Composition Values of NCAA Division 1 Female Athletes Derived From Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry. J Strength Cond Res. 2021 Oct 1;35(10):2886–93.

2. Hulmi JJ, Isola V, Suonpää M, Järvinen NJ, Kokkonen M, Wennerström A, et al. The Effects of Intensive Weight Reduction on Body Composition and Serum Hormones in Female Fitness Competitors. Front Physiol. 2016;7:689.