According to experts, a percentage of body fat below the range of ________ is unhealthy.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Essential body fat represents the minimum amount of fat necessary for normal physiological functioning: about 3–5% for men and 8–12% for women. These figures are cited by exercise science organizations (for example, the American Council on Exercise) and reflect fat stored in organs, bone marrow, central nervous system tissue, and reproductive tissues.

Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Essential fat vs. storage fat: essential fat is required for life and normal body function; storage fat is extra energy reserve.  
- Sex differences: women require higher essential fat because of reproductive and hormonal needs.  
- Health risk: values below essential fat impair organ function, hormone production, immune response and fertility.

Step-by-step reasoning
1. Identify the physiologic minimums: men ≈ 3–5%, women ≈ 8–12% (these are the lower healthy boundaries).  
2. Compare each multiple-choice option to those minimums:
   - Option A: 8–12% (men) and 15–20% (women). For men, 8–12% is above the essential minimum (not “below the range”); for women, 15–20% is also above. So this does not state a percentage below the healthy range.  
   - Option B: 1–3% (men) and 3–5% (women). Male 1–3%: values of 1% and 2% are below the essential 3% minimum (unsafe). Female 3–5%: entirely below the female essential minimum of 8% (unsafe). Thus these percentages are unrealistically low and unhealthy.  
   - Option C: 3–5% (men) and 8–12% (women). These are the established essential fat ranges; percentages below these are considered unhealthy.  
   - Option D: 15–20% (men) and 20–25% (women). These are within or above normal ranges, not the lower unhealthy thresholds.

Why the correct answer is correct
Option C exactly matches the accepted essential-fat minima (3–5% men, 8–12% women). Values below these ranges compromise physiological functions, so experts describe percentages below 3–5% for men and 8–12% for women as unhealthy.

Other options are incorrect because they either give values that are already above the essential minimum (A and D) or give unrealistically low values that are below the essential minimum for both sexes (B).

Final confirmation: the correct answer is "3–5% for men and 8–12% for women," which matches the provided answer.

According to experts, a percentage of body fat below the range of ________ is unhealthy.Single choice

Similar Questions

Which statement is true?

Waist circumference is an accurate way of calculating percent body fat.

Expansionary fiscal policy in an open economy with a floating exchange rate will likely:

Contractionary monetary policy in an open economy with a floating exchange rate will likely:

Contractionary monetary policy in an open economy with a fixed exchange rate will likely ____ a trade surplus.

Which is expansionary monetary policy?

Which is contractionary fiscal policy?

Which is expansionary fiscal policy?

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler