Prevalence of Rapid Weight Loss Practices and Their Profiles Among Non-Elite Combat Athletes in Kuching, East Malaysia

Abstract

Introduction. Rapid Weight Loss (RWL) is a common practice in combat sports where weight is classified to ensure equitable competition in terms of strength and agility. This study aimed to investigate the profiles of non-elite combat athletes and their RWL practices.Material and methods. This research was a cross-sectional study conducted in Kuching, Sarawak. Data were collected using a validated self-administered dual-language questionnaire.Results. A total of 65 respondents participated in the study; two-thirds were male, and the majority were taekwondo athletes. About 66% of the respondents reported to have practised rapid weight loss, with average weight loss of 3.4 kg (SD = 1.90) and highest weight loss of 4.9 kg (SD = 3.16). The most common RWL methods used were exercising more (69.8%), gradual dieting (51.1%), and training in heated rooms (20.8%). Physical trainers and training colleagues were rated as persons having the most influence on the use of RWL by the respondents. The perceived adverse effects which were mentioned the most frequently by the respondents were fatigue (69.2%), decreased vigour (50.8%), and muscle cramps (46.2%). As for the type of combat sport practised, muay thai and jiu jitsu had the highest number of respondents who used RWL. There were significant differences in RWL practices depending on the influences of training colleagues, physicians/doctors, physical trainers, parents, dieticians, and former athletes as well as perceived adverse effects of RWL.Conclusions. The findings of the current study were observed to be similar to those of research involving elite combat sport athletes where the prevalence of RWL was reasonably high, with similar characteristics. A proper regulatory programme should be put in place to assist both the athletes and their coaches/trainers in implementing proper weight control.

Multilevel Evaluation of Rapid Weight Loss in Wrestling and Taekwondo

“…Contrary to our results and the results of Kordi et al (2011) and Cheah et al (2019), Yang et al (2018), who investigated the impact of RWL (5% within 3 days) on athletic performance associated hemorheological properties considering relevant recovery time (16 h and between simulated matches). However, it is important to mention that the sample in this study was very small involving five male athletes.…”

“…Reports in different combat sports (judo, tkd, karate) have found a high prevalence of use of RWL (66-94%) in Israeli, Iranian and Malaysian athletes (Kordi et al, 2011;Berkovich et al, 2016;Cheah et al, 2019). In line with previous findings, the results of our study show a high prevalence of about 96% of use of RWL strategies in the sample of Mexican athletes.…”

“…Our results indicated feeling weak, tired and with muscular pain in the lower train in athletes when using RWL strategies, and are also supported by the findings of Cheah et al (2019) where athletes reported to perceive adverse effects of RWL on mood state; the most frequent responses included fatigue (69.2%), decreased vigor (50.8%), and muscle cramps (46.2%). Additionally, Kordi et al (2011) found that the majority of the wrestlers who quickly lose weight reported weakness, fatigue, and myalgia.…”

“…Common RWL methods used by Malaysian athletes were exercising more (69.8%), gradual dieting (51.1%), and training in heated rooms (20.8%) (Cheah et al, 2019), while food and fluid restriction in combination with increased energy expenditure were the preferred methods of weight loss employed by tkd British athletes (Fleming and Costarelli, 2009). However, dividing the sample into subgroups (more/<5% of their BM) allowed us to identify that those athletes who are in danger because they lose more than 5% of their BM tend to use certain strategies more frequently (increased excerise, training with plastic clothes, fluid restriction, spit out, and use plastic clothes even without training) than those who lose less.…”

“…In our study, we found, as in the Kordi et al' study, that the most influential person was the coach (86%), which makes sense considering the leader role of the coach in the context of the sport team. Alternatively Cheah et al (2019) mentioned that the physical trainers and training colleagues are commonly rated as the people having the most influence on the use of RWL by the athletes. Another example is the study by Berkovich et al (2019) in which they examined coaches' attitudes, perceptions and practices regarding RWL strategies, and they found that more than 90% of the participants reported that they usually supervise athletes through the weight loss process and recommend the gradual diet used in combination with dehydration.…”