{
  "id": 12886051,
  "title": "What happens when you have too little body fat",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/what-happens-when-you-have-too-little-body-fat",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-08T14:17:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/what-happens-when-you-have-too-little-body-fat/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Fat is essential for the proper functioning of the human body. Too much fat can lead to numerous health problems, but so too can too little. Dietary fat is found in the food we eat, while body fat is the body's way of storing energy that we do not currently need. When we consume more calories than we burn, fat cells called adipocytes store these excess nutrients as lipids, causing them to expand in size. However, unlike storage, body fat is an active organ that regulates various bodily functions.\n\nIn contrast to Goldilocks, our body thrives when the amount of body fat is just right. If body fat is too low, it can be detrimental to our health. This \"Goldilocks zone\" is crucial for our survival as our ancestors needed it to endure periods of food scarcity.\n\nBody fat helps the body maintain its temperature, with white fat insulating us and brown or beige fat generating heat. When we have too little body fat, our body enters starvation mode, slowing down various systems, including our immune function. The body starts breaking down muscle tissue and bones become weak, increasing the risk of fractures. This is not a healthy situation, especially for severe infections or emergencies.\n\nFat is also crucial for our hormones and reproductive health. In men, extremely low body fat can lead to a drop in testosterone, lower energy levels, and reduced physical performance. For women, it can cause irregular or absent periods. Some studies indicate that carrying extra weight can improve survival odds during severe illnesses.\n\nWhile it's challenging to measure individual body fat percentage, a healthy range for adult men is 10-20%, and for women, it's 20-29%. Those with obesity tend to have body fat above 30%. The ideal amount varies between individuals, but it's clear that having too little body fat is as unhealthy as having too much.",
  "summary": "From releasing hormones to regulating our temperature, fat has myriad roles in the body. Here's why chasing extreme fat-loss goals is so unhealthy.",
  "key_points": [
    "Body fat is essential for proper bodily functions",
    "Too little body fat can lead to health problems",
    "Healthy range: 10-20% for men, 20-29% for women"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}