The Magnitude of Rapid Weight Loss and Rapid Weight Gain in Combat Sport Athletes Preparing for Competition: A Systematic Review

Abstract

1 2 Combat sport athletes typically engage in a process called making-3 weight, characterised by rapid weight loss (RWL) and subsequent 4 rapid weight gain (RWG) in the days preceding competition. These 5 practices differ across each sport, but no systematic comparison of the 6 size of the changes in body mass exists. The aim was to determine the 7 magnitude of RWL and RWG in combat sport athletes preparing for 8 competition. The review protocol was preregistered with PROSPERO 9 [CRD42017055279]. In eligible studies, athletes prepared habitually 10 with a RWL period ≤7 days preceding competition. An electronic 11 search of EBSCOhost (CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus) 12 and PubMed Central was performed to July 2018. Sixteen full-text 13 studies (total 4432 participants, 156 female, 4276 male) were included, 14 providing data from five combat sports (boxing, judo, mixed martial 15 arts (MMA), taekwondo and wrestling). Three studies reported RWL 16 and fourteen studies reported RWG. Duration permitted for RWG 17 ranged 3-32 hours. The largest changes in body mass occurred in two 18 separate MMA cohorts (RWL 7.4 ± 1.1kg [~10%], RWG 7.4 ± 2.8kg 19[11.7 ± 4.7%]). The magnitude of RWG appears to be influenced by 20 the type of sport, competition structure, and recovery duration 21 permitted. A cause for concern is the lack of objective data quantifying 22 the magnitude of RWL. There is insufficient evidence to substantiate 23 the use of RWG as a proxy for RWL, and little data are available in 24 females. By engaging in RWG, athletes are able to exploit rules to 25 compete up to three weight categories higher than at the official weigh-26 in. 27 28 2 2

Bio-Banding in Judo: The Mediation Role of Anthropometric Variables on the Maturation Effect

“…RWL refers to the strategy adopted by most combat sports athletes to temporally reduce their body mass, typically about 2-10%, but with reports of reductions greater than 12% [23,24], a few days before competitions to fit in a lower weight category, in an attempt to gain an advantage against lighter, smaller, and weaker opponents [22]. Achieved only through the combination of aggressive dehydration and starvation methods [24][25][26][27][28], it is a well-established common practice among combat sports athletes [29] whose harmful effects are already known and well documented in the literature [26,[30][31][32][33]. RWL is not an issue restricted to adult or professional sports as children and adolescents from 10 years old also use RWL for competitive advantage [34,35].…”

Combat Sport Nutrition: A Pragmatic Case Study in an Elite Mixed Martial Arts Athlete

“…Kasper et al [5] followed an MMA athlete who lost 18.1% (14.5 kg) body mass over eight weeks; including a reduction of 9.3% (7.3 kg) in the final 24-hours, which induced blood values consistent with hypernatremia and acute kidney injury. While extreme, this case not unique and MMA has experienced two RWL-related fatalities in recent years [4]. Both were associated with severe dehydration achieved via potentially harmful methods such as sauna use, training in sweat (rubber) suits, and use of diuretics: all commonly used RWL methods in MMA [6].…”

“…Although making weight is ubiquitous across combat sports, MMA athletes undergo the greatest changes in body mass for competition [3,4]. Kasper et al [5] followed an MMA athlete who lost 18.1% (14.5 kg) body mass over eight weeks; including a reduction of 9.3% (7.3 kg) in the final 24-hours, which induced blood values consistent with hypernatremia and acute kidney injury.…”

Acute Effects of Supervised Making Weight on Health Markers, Hormones and Body Composition in Muay Thai Fighters

“…Making weight is characterized by a rapid weight loss (RWL) period and a subsequent rapid weight gain (RWG) in the days before competition [ 7 ]. These practices differ across each sport, depending on the distance between the weighting procedure and the match, so the RWL could start 2–3 days before the competition and the RWG could last from 1 to 18 h [ 8 ]. It has been reported that combat sports athletes have performed this practice at least once in life [ 9 , 10 ], but this methodology is also known among amateur fighters and it is applied from two to eight times per year (personal communication and experience within the Italian Muay Thai and Italian Boxing federations).…”

“…It has been reported that combat sports athletes have performed this practice at least once in life [ 9 , 10 ], but this methodology is also known among amateur fighters and it is applied from two to eight times per year (personal communication and experience within the Italian Muay Thai and Italian Boxing federations). The goal of cutting weight is to be able to compete in a lower-weight category than one of the regular season, which would translate into a physical advantage; notwithstanding, scientific literature has demonstrated a reduction in sports and psychological performance after drastic RWL and RWG [ 8 , 11 ]. The issues of the making weight practice encompass not only the frequency over the year but also that is operated based on anecdotes and non-professional supervision, which have called the attention of health professionals due to the alarming potential adverse events [ 12 ].…”