Humans are among the animals with the highest amount of body fat In fact, the average healthy woman has a body fat percentage that is more than seven times as high as other animals. Women tend to carry extra body fat in the hip, thigh and buttock area, which is essential for childbirth. This fat in the lower body is where women store an omega-3 fat called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which plays a major role in the healthy brain development of fetuses.
More about animals and fat percentage:
- A high percentage of fat in wild animals is typically only for survival purposes, such as to survive arctic temperatures or periods without food. Unhealthy obesity rarely — if ever — occurs in the wild.
- Men worldwide generally say that women who have curvaceous lower bodies are the most attractive. Scientists believe that this is because men subconsciously see these women as better mates, because they are likely to have a higher amount of stored DHA to produce healthy offspring.
- The animals that are most likely to develop unhealthy amounts of fat are domestic pets, mainly as a result of their owners’ feeding habits.