What exactly is male body fat percentage? I thought simply losing weight was enough.
Body fat percentage is the ratio of fat relative to your total body weight. When fat levels are excessive, it triggers insulin resistance and disrupts your metabolism. In Traditional Korean Medicine, this poor circulation causes waste products like 'Eohyeol' (blood stasis) to accumulate, creating a constitution that gains weight more easily. I’ve personally found that focusing solely on the scale often harms the body; the true key is balancing the internal body composition.
Body fat percentage is a metric that reveals the actual quality of your body composition, proving that the number on the scale isn't the whole story. In Western medicine, excess body fat is not just about physical volume; enlarged fat cells secrete chronic inflammatory substances that dysregulate metabolic functions. This leads to insulin resistance, causing the body to store energy rather than expend it.
From the perspective of Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), this state is explained through 'Dameum' (phlegm-rheum) and 'Eohyeol' (blood stasis). Dameum refers to waste products formed by stagnant fluid metabolism, while Eohyeol is stagnant blood that hinders circulation. High body fat is essentially a signal that your body’s circulatory pathways are clogged with these metabolic wastes.
Specifically, men in their 30s and older often develop 'Biheo' (Spleen Qi deficiency), which weakens the digestive system and allows Dameum to accumulate in the abdominal area. I personally experienced this typical Biheo symptom, developing a protruding belly from late-night eating during busy periods.
Through my own experience, I realized that starving yourself to shed muscle and water weight is not true dieting. Genuine body fat management involves detoxifying the body and restoring a broken metabolism to its normal rhythm. This is the only way to break the cycle of yo-yo dieting and maintain a healthy, light body permanently.
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