Abstract
BackgroundThis study used a short-term de-training model to mimic the physiological weight changes during the early retirement stage in Taekwondo (TKD) athletes. This study investigates whether the negative changes in body composition, blood lipid profiles, and metabolic biomarkers occur in elite collegiate TKD athletes when experiencing a two-months de-training period.MethodsFourteen collegiate Division Ι elite TKD athletes (age: 21.1 ± 0.2 years, BMI: 22.3 ± 1.1 kg/m2; 10 males and 4 females) participated in this study. The body composition, blood lipid profiles, atherogenic dyslipidemia indexes, metabolic biomarkers and baseline systemic inflammation states were measured before and after two-months de-training.ResultsThe body weight and BMI did not change after de-training in these elite TKD athletes. The total muscle mass displayed a significant decline after de-training (−2.0%, p = 0.019), with an increase in fat mass (+24.3%, p < 0.01). The blood triglyceride did not change, but the total cholesterol was higher after de-training (+8.3%, p = 0.047). The CHOL-to-HDL and LDL-to-HDL ratios increased by 12.4% (p < 0.001) and 13.2% (p = 0.002) after de-training, respectively. The blood platelet number, plateletcrit, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio increased significantly by 5.0% (p = 0.013), 7.3% (p = 0.009), and 20.6% (p = 0.018) after de-training, respectively. The McAuley’s Index decreased (−6.9%, p = 0.025) after de-training.ConclusionWe demonstrated that a two-months de-training period resulted in adverse effects on early atherogenic dyslipidemia development, progressing insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation, and visceral adiposity in young elite TKD athletes. Our findings provide clear insights into the possible deleterious impacts at early stage retirement in former combative sports athletes.
Highlights
This study used a short-term de-training model to mimic the physiological weight changes during the early retirement stage in Taekwondo (TKD) athletes
We demonstrated that a two-months de-training period resulted in adverse effects on early atherogenic dyslipidemia development, progressing insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation, and visceral adiposity in young elite TKD athletes
There were no differences in blood TG level between TKD-specific training period (TKD Tx) and after de-training (De-training (2 M)), but the CHOL level was significantly higher after two-months de-training (+8.3%, p = 0.047)
Summary
This study used a short-term de-training model to mimic the physiological weight changes during the early retirement stage in Taekwondo (TKD) athletes. This study investigates whether the negative changes in body composition, blood lipid profiles, and metabolic biomarkers occur in elite collegiate TKD athletes when experiencing a two-months de-training period. Previous evidence has revealed that the dramatic decrease in physical activity level may be more susceptible to inactivity-related increases in disease risk in retired athletes [6,7,8]. For former competitive athletes who train for many years to reach the elite level should notice a dramatic decrease in the amount of physical activity after retirement. Studies involving detraining models appear to be appropriate for mimicking the early stage of retirement in these former combative sports fighters, despite only several recent studies investigating the effects of de-training on the declines in sportspecific performance [9, 10]
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