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Even lurking just a bit on fitness communities shows that people often talk about single digit body fat levels.

Intuitively, this does not seem to be a 'normal' state of the body. People with such low fat levels do not necessarily seem healthy on the first glance, with their paper thin skin, prominent veins and visible facial bones. Anecdotally, I’ve seen a female athlete complaining in the internet that when she was dropping to her lowest fat levels her grandma was asking if she wasn’t sick.

Question arises if such low fat levels are not a health hazard?

I know that athletes often drop fat to lowest possible levels just days before a competition and, once the competition is finished, return to slightly higher levels. So these lowest possible levels seem unsustainable long-term. Even if the 'normal' low fat levels of athletes are still not low enough to cause health hazards, question still arises if these periodical drops to even lower levels are not hazardous.

Note that I am asking about body fat levels well below what is usually considered a 'healthy normal' in most people and not about losing fat from being overweight.

gaazkam
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  • I’m voting to close this question because "health risk" is a medical question, and this isn't directly related to exercise. – Alec Jan 09 '22 at 00:58
  • Since it was closed, and I was the one that recommended the separate question I will give my thoughts on this. It in no way is medical advice, merely observations... Different people have different resting body fat percentages. 4% is the absolute minimum males need to live. Once you reach your lower wall (typically somewhere between 6-8%), your body will put itself in survival mode because it doesn’t have the nutrients required to produce normal hormone levels. – Eric Warburton Jan 11 '22 at 20:55
  • If you put yourself in a low enough body fat range you can put your hormones in hypogonadal regions, which drops energy, recovery, sperm count, immune system, mood, etc. Athletes dropping to low levels: This is only done in sports where dropping weight provides an advantage over the competitors such as combat sports that have weight divisions or bodybuilding. In weight division sports, people often dehydrate themselves a day before, to put themselves in lower divisions as rehydrating is very quick and they can still perform at near 100% against easier opponents. – Eric Warburton Jan 11 '22 at 20:55
  • Of note, the World Boxing Association has cited recent studies showing that a rapid drop in ~2% body weight causes a decrease in shock-absorbing brain fluid, potentially increasing the risk for brain damage. They state, “The minimum acceptable percent body fat for peak performance is 5% in men, 12-14% in women, and 7% for youth and teenagers, Don’t come in to weigh-ins dehydrated as urine testing can easily detect an invalid weight achieved by unsafe and temporary water loss.” – Eric Warburton Jan 11 '22 at 20:56
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    Bodybuilders will both dehydrate, and carb deplete. Carb depletion is when they don’t eat any carbs for several days burning all their glycogen stores. It puts their bodies in survival mode, which then makes their muscles be able to hold more water and glycogen than normal, making their muscles look fuller. This is why many body builders will be eating candy bars and chugging water backstage. – Eric Warburton Jan 11 '22 at 20:56
  • @EricWarburton Thank you for your comments! FYI I asked about this on Med.SE, you might drop an answer there if you wish – gaazkam Jan 12 '22 at 17:50

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