Question

My teacher told me that muscles make up 85% of our body weight and that everyone has the same bone size. Is this correct?

Answer 1

Sometimes when you research a question, poof your answer is clear, defined, lots of material out there. That”s how I like it. This question was like searching for the Holy Grail. Not much information, not any studies proving definitively anything. Here”s what I found.

An average adult has 206 bones in their body. People can have different number of rib bones and bones in their hands and feet that make doctors average the number of bones in a skeleton. Bones themselves can have different densities. We know this from people who have thinning bones due to Osteoporosis.

The interesting thing that is substantiated on this quest is heavy people with a BMI over 33 never get Osteoporosis. They have greater bone density. Bone density is increased when you do activities that put stress on the bone structure like weight lifting or in this case carrying around excess weight.

So is there truth to the heavy weight, big bones, big frame? Not really. Bone weight depends on how much a person”s entire body weighs. Bones make up around 15% of a person”s total body weight. While people do have different frame size, most who weigh too much for their height do so because of excess body fat. Body builders are the exception. Remember muscle mass weighs more than the same volume of  fat and lean muscles make you look thinner (so if you have lots of muscles you may weigh more but look thinner).

Most weight charts take into effect your frame size. Many weight charts have 10 pound increments in each frame size; small, medium, and large. That is a 30 pound swing for any given height, so if you look at the chart and say to yourself, “I’m big boned and should weight more than that”, well, maybe 10-15 pounds.  Being big-boned or small boned doesn’t justify a 20-25 pounds differential from a normal size person. If you are truly convinced you are not overweight just big boned. Buy a body fat scale. These scales can actually measure your fat percentage. But don”t count on insurance companies changing your premiums; they strictly go by their charts. Remember to continue to treat your body with care so that it can help you to do all the things you enjoy.