Why can’t you be healthy with super low body fat %, let’s say 2%? If the body still gets energy through metabolism, I don’t see how there’s a problem.

Question

Why can’t you be healthy with super low body fat %, let’s say 2%? If the body still gets energy through metabolism, I don’t see how there’s a problem.

In: 14

Answer 1

Basically:

Explains way better than off the top of my head:

“A But there comes a point when shedding fat isn’t healthy. According to Pennsylvania State University, the average guy’s body fat is 15-20, 3% of which is “essential,” meaning you’d die without it.

“A body-fat percentage below 5% is regarded as a warning sign of poor health, even in elite athletes,” says Georgie Fear, R.D., author of Lean Habits for Lifelong Weight Loss. “Male bodybuilders typically go below 5% for competition, but don’t stay there in the off-season.” That’s because body fat is integral to keeping your entire body—including your cardiovascular, endocrine, reproductive, skeletal, and central nervous systems—in check. Without enough body fat, they all go haywire.”