The Association between Rapid Weight Loss and Body Composition in Elite Combat Sports Athletes

11Citations
Citations of this article
75Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Rapid Weight Loss (RWL) is a rapid reduction in weight over a short period of time seeking to attain the norm required for a competition in a particular weight category. RWL has a negative health impact on athletes including the significant muscle damage induced by RWL. This study aimed to identify the association between RWL and body composition among competitive combat athletes (n = 43) in Lithuania. Our focus was laid on the disclosure of their RWL practice by using a previously standardized RWL Questionnaire. The body composition of the athletes was measured by means of the standing-posture 8-12-electrode multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and the electrical signals of 5, 50, 250, 550 and 1000 kHz. This non-experimental cross-sectional study resulted in preliminary findings on the prevalence and profile of RWL among combat athletes in Lithuania. 88% of the athletes surveyed in our study had lost weight in order to compete, with the average weight loss of 4.6 ± 2% of the habitual body mass. The athletes started to resort to weight cycling as early as 9 years old, with a mean age of 12.8 ± 2.1 years. The combination of practiced weight loss techniques such as skipping meals (adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR) 6.3; 95% CI: 1.3–31.8), restricting fluids (AOR 5.5; 95% CI: 1.0–31.8), increased exercise (AOR 3.6; 95% CI: 1.0–12.5), training with rubber/plastic suits (AOR 3.2; 95% CI: 0.9–11.3) predicted the risk of RWL aggressiveness. RWL magnitude potentially played an important role in maintaining the loss of muscle mass in athletes during the preparatory training phase (β –0.01 kg, p < 0.001). Therefore, an adequate regulatory programme should be integrated into the training plans of high-performance combat sports athletes to keep not only the athletes but also their coaches responsible for a proper weight control.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Baranauskas, M., Kupčiūnaitė, I., & Stukas, R. (2022). The Association between Rapid Weight Loss and Body Composition in Elite Combat Sports Athletes. Healthcare (Switzerland), 10(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10040665

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free