Body Composition Reference
The median published figure in the Body Composition Reference is 20.50 percent across 2 sources' own pages (range 18 to 23 percent), read 12 October 2026.
2 of the 14 named sources read in full publish a figure; 12 publish none, read 12 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 20.50 percent across 2).
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Read |
|---|---|---|
| NHANES DXA body composition reference values (full text) | 23% | 2026-10-12 |
| American Council on Exercise body fat percentage categories | 18% | 2026-10-12 |
The sentence each figure was read from (2)
- NHANES DXA body composition reference values (full text), read 2026-10-12:
In the 1988–1994 survey, the average male and female %fat values at age 25 were 23% and 34%, respectively [20].
- American Council on Exercise body fat percentage categories, read 2026-10-12:
According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), a body fat range of 25% to 31% for women or 18% to 24% for men is typical for the average nonathlete.
Read in full, publishes no figure
12 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- CDC Adult BMI Categories, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- CDC Adult BMI Calculator, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- NHS calculate your BMI (adults), read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- WHO obesity and overweight fact sheet, read 2026-10-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- Statistics Canada, prevalence of overweight and obesity, CHMS 2022-2024, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Statistics Canada table 13-10-0794-01, measured adult BMI by age group and sex, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- ABS waist circumference and BMI, latest release, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Public Health Agency of Canada, obesity prevalence among adults, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- NSW Health body mass index calculator, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- NCHS Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults, August 2021-August 2023, read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- NHANES DXA body composition reference values (PubMed record), read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Kouri et al., fat-free mass index in users and nonusers of anabolic-androgenic steroids (PubMed record), read 2026-10-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
2 of the 14 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 12 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 1 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences), so N counts sources, never sentences; 7 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per jurisdiction per measure: the authority's published cut-points beside the measured population distribution from that country's own health survey, so a reader's own number returns a PERCENTILE by age and sex and not just a band.
The derivation nobody publishes is the cross-authority spread on the same body - the same BMI is 'healthy' to the NHS and 'increased risk' to the same body at an Asian-ethnicity cut-off, and the same body-fat percentage is 'fitness' to ACE and above the NHANES median - plus the changed-since on each survey release.
7 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (15)
- CDC Adult BMI Categories(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- CDC Adult BMI Calculator(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NHS calculate your BMI (adults)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- WHO obesity and overweight fact sheet(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Statistics Canada, prevalence of overweight and obesity, CHMS 2022-2024(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Statistics Canada table 13-10-0794-01, measured adult BMI by age group and sex(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ABS waist circumference and BMI, latest release(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Public Health Agency of Canada, obesity prevalence among adults(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NSW Health body mass index calculator(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NCHS Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults, August 2021-August 2023(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NHANES DXA body composition reference values (PubMed record)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Kouri et al., fat-free mass index in users and nonusers of anabolic-androgenic steroids (PubMed record)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NHANES DXA body composition reference values (full text)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- American Council on Exercise body fat percentage categories(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- AIHW overweight and obesity report(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
Cite or embed this figure
The median published figure in the Body Composition Reference is 20.50 percent across 2 sources' own pages (range 18 to 23 percent), read 12 October 2026.
2 of the 14 named sources read in full publish a figure; 12 publish none, read 12 October 2026.
The median is unchanged since 26 September 2026 (was 20.50 percent across 2).
Cite as: "Strength Standards Calc Body Composition Reference", updated 2026-10-19, https://strengthstandardscalc.com/datasets/body-composition-reference/.
Download the CSV (2 rows, computed 2026-10-19)