Have you ever wondered: why do doctors advise people with diabetes to lose weight even when they are not obviously overweight? The answer may lie in body fat percentage.
Body fat percentage (BFP), also known as body fat ratio, refers to the proportion of body fat (including essential fat and storage fat) to total body weight. It reflects the body’s fat content and is commonly used to diagnose obesity.The healthy range for body fat percentage is 10%–20% for adult men and 20%–30% for adult women. Body fat percentage should be kept within the normal range; a man with over 20% body fat or a woman with over 30% is considered obese.
Simply put, your BMI may be within the normal range, but your body fat percentage could still be too high.Therefore, for people with diabetes, besides striving for a normal BMI, they should also pay attention to BFP.
A high body fat percentage increases the risk of other diseases, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, and more.
Body fat percentage can now be measured with devices, such as body fat scales used by fitness enthusiasts, which connect to mobile phones to display readings. It can also be calculated using formulas. We will not go into specific calculations here, and there is no need to memorize them, as many online tools are available. The key point is that people with diabetes should care about both BMI and BFP.
Fat is essential for people with diabetes, but they should consciously limit high-fat foods and use scientific exercise to burn fat and avoid fat accumulation.Many fitness apps offer special fat-burning workouts and exercise programs. If body fat percentage is too high, people with diabetes can follow these fat-burning courses or online exercise videos to achieve fat loss.
Notably, different running styles serve different purposes: some build muscle, some reduce weight, and some burn fat. If you enjoy running, it is helpful to learn about different running methods.
For people with diabetes who have high body fat, the ideal form of exercise is one that maintains physical activity, supports overall health, and effectively burns fat.Such individuals should learn about different exercises, choose targeted ones, and train scientifically to lower body fat percentage and achieve healthy weight management.