Muscle VS. Fat – does one really weigh more?

This question has all the hallmarks of one of those trick questions. You hear it all the time “muscle weighs more than fat.”  Is that true?  The obvious answer is no.  Five pounds of fat weighs the same as five pounds of muscle.  It makes so much more sense when stated this way.  So what is going on with all of these claims that one type of tissue weighs more than another?  It’s VOLUME that is at play here. Muscle is denser than fat—that five pounds of muscle is going to be smaller than that five pounds of fat.

Think of it this way:  A 5’5″, 140 pound woman who is 18% body fat is going to be noticeably smaller than a 5’5″, 140 pound woman who is 36% body fat.  This also points out why fitness professionals tell us to ignore the scale and your total weight when thinking about your fitness level.  If the 36% body fat woman in the example is able to flip her numbers to that of the 18% body fat woman, she will still weigh 140 pounds, but she will be smaller, have more muscle tone and generally look sleeker.  The fact that she is still 140 pounds is of no consequence.

So when thinking about your fitness level, your appearance and your overall wellness, weight is a number that is of little use as a gauge.  The percentage of that weight that is fat;  how you “feel” is a much better measure of one’s health and wellness.

Walker Ozar and the Beverly Hills Posture Team