Are sumo wrestlers really fat? What is their body fat percentage?

KohakuIs a sumo wrestler's body mostly fat? Let's look at what the studies measured.

The answer in 30 seconds

First, let me give you the answer in 30 seconds.

By BMI, almost every sumo wrestler is classed as obese, but studies that measured body fat report an average of roughly 24 to 26%. Their large weight includes a great deal of muscle and other non-fat tissue, not just fat.

A dohyo, the clay sumo ring, with no one in it — A dohyo. Studies report that a wrestler's body holds a large amount of muscle and other non-fat tissue as well as fat.Photo: z tanuki / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

By BMI, all are obese

BMI is a rough guide to build, calculated by dividing weight by height. It cannot tell muscle from fat. In a Japanese study of 15 college sumo wrestlers, the average weight was 125.1 kg and the average BMI was 40.0. By the World Health Organization's criteria, all of them were classed as obese.

By body fat, a different picture

The same study also measured body fat percentage, the share of body weight that is fat. The average was 25.6%. Only 40% of the wrestlers (6 of them) counted as obese when the cutoff was set at a body fat percentage above 25%. The researchers explained that their muscles are so well developed that their weight apart from fat is large, and that both BMI and body fat percentage should be considered.

KohakuBMI and body fat percentage give quite different pictures, don't they?

Another study agrees

In another study of 37 professional wrestlers, measured by weighing underwater, the average body fat was 26.1%, compared with 12.1% for 26 untrained men. The largest wrestler weighed 181 kg and had 33.0% body fat. A study comparing 8 college wrestlers with 8 untrained students found body fat of 24.0% versus 13.3%, and weight apart from fat of 88.9 kg versus 48.4 kg. Wrestlers had more of both fat and non-fat tissue.

Figure: Wrestlers' body fat and how to read BMI

Figures come from the studies in the article. They differ a little between studies.

Why the numbers differ

The numbers differ a little from study to study because the groups differ in size and age, and so do the ways of measuring. Some methods use ultrasound to check the thickness of the fat under the skin, and others weigh a person underwater. One study that used ultrasound estimates noted that its body fat figures may run about 4% high. That is why it is safest to think of the figure as a range of roughly 24 to 26%.

Want to know more?

The average body fat of 14 well-trained bodybuilders was 10.9%, and the wrestlers had more weight apart from fat than the bodybuilders.
The same study reported that the wrestlers' weight apart from fat, divided by height, averaged 0.61 kg/cm.

KohakuTheir large size includes plenty of muscle as well as fat. And do remember that the numbers change with the way of measuring.

Quick quiz: test yourself

About what is a wrestler's average body fat?

Show the answer

About 5%
About 15%
About 25%

About 25% Studies report averages of 24.0 to 26.1%. Because wrestlers also carry a lot of muscle, BMI alone does not tell the story.

Sources

Body composition and resting metabolic rate of Japanese college Sumo wrestlers and non-athlete students: are Sumo wrestlers obese?Anthropological Science (J-STAGE)
Upper limit of fat-free mass in humans: A study on Japanese Sumo wrestlersAmerican Journal of Human Biology (PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine)
Comparison of normalized maximum aerobic capacity and body composition of sumo wrestlers to athletes in combat and other sportsJournal of Sports Science and Medicine

This article was written after checking the sources above as of 2026-10-03. Explanations may change as research progresses. Photo credits are shown below each photo.