Weight Loss Strategies in Combat Sports and Concerning Habits in Mixed Martial Arts

Barley, Oliver R.; Chapman, Dale W.; Abbiss, Chris R.

doi:10.1123/ijspp.2017-0715

Cited by 99 publications

(166 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…This is similar or higher than rates reported for other combat sports athletes (Kiningham et al, 2001;Jetton et al, 2013;Horswill, 2009;Artioli et al, 2010a;Brito et al, 2012;Barley et al, 2017). In judo, 62-90% of athletes report to engage in RWL (Artioli et al, 2010a;Brito et al, 2012;Barley et al, 2017) in wrestling, 60-97% (Kiningham et al, 2001;Barley et al, 2017), in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, 56.8-88% (Brito et al, 2012;Barley et al, 2017), in Muay Thai/kickboxing, 94% (Barley et al, 2017) and in taekwondo, 63.3-85% (Brito et al, 2012;Barley et al, 2017). The higher prevalence in the current study of MMA athletes may reflect the rapid growth in popularity of the sport and prize money, but might also reflect the broad weight categories and/or the extended time between weigh-in and competition for most events (usually 24-36 hours) compared to that of judo (2.5-5 hours) and amateur boxing (0-8 hours).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

High Prevalence and Magnitude of Rapid Weight Loss in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes

Hillier

Sutton

James

et al. 2019

International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

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The practice of rapid weight loss (RWL) in mixed martial arts (MMA) is an increasing concern but data remain scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, magnitude, methods, and influencers of RWL in professional and amateur MMA athletes. MMA athletes (N = 314; 287 men and 27 women) across nine weight categories (strawweight to heavyweight), completed a validated questionnaire adapted for this sport. Sex-specific data were analyzed, and subgroup comparisons were made between athletes competing at professional and amateur levels. Most athletes purposefully reduced body weight for competition (men: 97.2%; women: 100%). The magnitude of RWL in 1 week prior to weigh-in was significantly greater for professional athletes compared with those competing at amateur level (men: 5.9% vs. 4.2%; women: 5.0% vs. 2.1% of body weight; p < .05). In the 24 hr preceding weigh-in, the magnitude of RWL was greater at professional than amateur level in men (3.7% vs. 2.5% of body weight; p < .05). Most athletes “always” or “sometimes” used water loading (72.9%), restricting fluid intake (71.3%), and sweat suits (55.4%) for RWL. Coaches were cited as the primary source of influence on RWL practices (men: 29.3%; women: 48.1%). There is a high reported prevalence of RWL in MMA, at professional and amateur levels. Our findings, constituting the largest inquiry to date, call for urgent action from MMA organizations to safeguard the health and well-being of athletes competing in this sport.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

High Prevalence and Magnitude of Rapid Weight Loss in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes

Hillier

Sutton

James

et al. 2019

International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

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“…*Correspondence: patrikdrid@gmail.com 1 Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article apply severe methods to lose weight, such as consuming laxatives and diuretics [7,9] and, in some cases, forced vomiting [4,8,9]. Consequently, it is unsurprisingly that these extreme approaches have led to death in some cases [3].…”

Section: Journal Of Translational Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Namely, it has been reported that nearly 90% of judokas engage in RWL on multiple occasions per year [3]. In other combat sports, including mixed martial arts [4][5][6], jujitsu [5,7], Brazilian jiu jitsu [5], boxing [8], taekwondo [5,7,8], kickboxing [5], and wrestling [5,8], 60-80% of athletes have reported to engage in some form of weightcutting. As in other combat sports, judokas often employ radical approaches to induce RWL, applying methods such as reduced fluid intake, caloric deficiency, increased physical activity, plastic suit training, heated room training, and sauna [3,8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of rapid weight loss on skeletal muscle in judo athletes

et al. 2020

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Objective: To observe the effect of rapid weight loss (RWL) methods over 3 days on muscle damage in judokas. Methods: Eighteen judokas participated in this crossover study, meaning that judo athletes were subjected to exercise-only phase (4 days) and RWL phase (3 days). Subjects were tested for myoglobin, creatine kinase, aldolase, hemoglobin, and hematocrit values on seven consecutive days. These biomarkers served as indicators of acute muscle damage. Results: During the exercise-only phase, no significant changes were observed. Myoglobin (Mb) (p < 0.001), creatine kinase (CK) (p < 0.001) and aldolase (ALD) (p < 0.001) significantly increased only during the RWL phase, as well as hemoglobin (Hb) (p < 0.001) and hematocrit (Hct) (p < 0.005) values. It was detected that peak values for muscle damage biomarkers were reached on the sixth day, while Hct and Hb values were the highest on the seventh day of the study. Conclusion: Our study showed significant muscle damage induced by RWL. The prevalence of RWL use by judokas is high but firm scientific evidence is lacking in the evaluation of the current practice of it. Therefore, further knowledge must be gained to evaluate the effectiveness of RWL on performance and its impact on judokas' wellbeing.

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“…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].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Giudicelli

Luz

Söğüt

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Young judo athletes are bio-banding based on age and body mass and compete in weight classes. The purposes of this study were to investigate the influences of maturation on physical performance in young judokas through controlling the chronological age and body mass, and to examine the mediating role of anthropometric variables. Sixty-seven judokas, aged 11.0–14.7, were measured for 11 anthropometric and seven physical performance variables. Pearson partial correlations were conducted to verify the relationship between the maturational indicator and the dependent variables. Mediation analyses were performed to identify the extent to which anthropometric variables mediate the relationship. The maturation effect remained on the aerobic capacity and handgrip strength (p < 0.05). Fat mass (b = 80.335, 95%CI 11.580–204.270) and fat-free mass (b = 108.256, 95%CI 39.508–207.606) totally mediated the effect on aerobic capacity. Fat mass (b = 0.023, 95%CI 0.004–0.057), fat-free mass (b = 0.029, 95%CI 0.011–0.058), stature (b = 0.031, 95%CI 0.008–0.061), arm span (b = 0.021, 95%CI 0.003–0.044), and inferior members length (b = 0.022, 95%CI 0.005–0.049) totally mediated the effect on handgrip strength. The effect of biological maturation is noticeable even after age and body mass control, being mediated by anthropometric variables related to body composition and size.

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Weight Loss Strategies in Combat Sports and Concerning Habits in Mixed Martial Arts

Cited by 99 publications

References 31 publications

High Prevalence and Magnitude of Rapid Weight Loss in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes

High Prevalence and Magnitude of Rapid Weight Loss in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes

The effects of rapid weight loss on skeletal muscle in judo athletes

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

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