ORIGINAL ARTICLE  EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL MEDICINE 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2021 January;61(1):117-23

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.20.11221-0

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The link between the range of rapid weight loss and physical conditions of elite wrestlers during competition under the morning weigh-in rule

Emi KONDO ¹ ✉, Mio NISHIMAKI ², Daichi YAMASHITA ², Kohei NAKAJIMA ¹

¹ Sports Medical Center, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan; ² Department of Sports Sciences, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Tokyo, Japan

BACKGROUND: Amateur wrestlers have often undergone rapid weight loss (RWL) to win their matches. On January 1, 2018, the rule of weigh-in was changed and weight category increased. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of wrestlers undergoing RWL under the new rule of morning weigh-in before the tournament and examine the relationship between the range of RWL and physical conditions.
METHODS: Male (N.=204) and female (N.=50) wrestlers participating in the National Wrestling Championship completed a questionnaire about weight reduction methods and their physical condition.
RESULTS: Among 159 participants exceeding their weight class one-week before competition, 36% of males and 44% of females exceeded their weight class by 0.0-4.9% (requiring small RWL); 30% of males and 6% of females exceeded by 5.0-10.0% (requiring large RWL), but neither males nor females were over 10.0% above required weight. In males, there was a moderate negative correlation between excess rates of body mass one-week before competition and their physical condition (r=-0.330 to -0.467, P<0.05) on the first day of the competition; however, no significant correlation was found in the females. Comparing physical condition according to the range of RWL, there were significantly lower scores in the large RWL group (≥4.9%) than the small RWL group (<4.9%) in males.
CONCLUSIONS: We found that RWL≤5% is most appropriate to ensure better physical condition of wrestlers on competition day.

KEY WORDS: Sports; Body weight; Dehydration; Glycogen