I was wondering how many pounds of essential fat (meaning the essential internal ones that we need for survival) does an average male and female have? I read that for men it's around 3-5%.

I'm not looking for a percentage but a round estimate of the lbs of fat we need to survive.

I'm just curious.

I was wondering how many pounds of essential fat (meaning the essential internal ones that we need for survival) does an average male and female have? I read that for men it's around 3-5%.

I'm not looking for a percentage but a round estimate of the lbs of fat we need to survive.

I'm just curious.
:confused:

I believe there is no round estimate. It will vary with height, structure, and the amount of material that is not fat, which is why a percentage is used in the first place.

I'm not looking for a percentage but a round estimate of the lbs of fat we need to survive.


Your looking for pounds instead of percentage? That doesn't make any sense. Percentage is much more meaningful than pounds, because obviously, a guy with a big frame who is 6 feet 8 inches tall will need more absolute pounds of bodyfat for survival than a small-framed guy who is 5 foot 2. In terms of minimal % you need to stay alive, I'm not sure....but I imagine you start running into health problems at much less than 3-4%.

I was wondering how many pounds of essential fat (meaning the essential internal ones that we need for survival) does an average male and female have? I read that for men it's around 3-5%.

I'm not looking for a percentage but a round estimate of the lbs of fat we need to survive.
Essential fat is that amount necessary for maintenance of life and reproductive functions. The percentage for women is greater than that for men, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions. Essential fat is 2–5% in men, and 10–13% in women.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/bodyfatcalc.html

However, "essential fat" isn't the target body fat percentage a person should be aiming for. Essential fat isn't actually the visible part of fat. It's the fat that is stored in the bone marrow, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, muscles and other organs. A person also requires a small amount of storage fat to be available as fuel for the body in time of need. If you contracted an illness, or were suddenly met with additional stressors (either psychological or physiological) that put more demands on your body, and had only essential fat, you would have no stores to help you recover, and insufficient energy to get you out of that troubled situation. :(

Consider body builders and fitness competitors just before a competition. From what I've read, their bodies are very fragile and they must take special care of them. There's an exerpt here of what it might be like:

during the last ten days prior to the show I was too weak to lift weights or do aerobics. I basically worked in the store with my dad and rested as much as I could. (http://www.dannypadilla.com/81Olympia.html)

Essential fat isn't actually the visible part of fat. It's the fat that is stored in the bone marrow, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, muscles and other organs.

I know you say "and other organs" so you're covered, but it's important to point out, also, that fat is an important part of your skin, and serves purposes such as thermal insulation. So if you get down to very low bf%, you're going to have trouble regulating your body temperature.