Prevalence, Magnitude and Methods of Rapid Weight Loss Reported by Male Mixed Martial Arts Athletes in Ireland.

John Connor,Brendan Egan

doi:10.3390/sports7090206

Abstract

Rapid weight loss (RWL) is frequently practiced in weight category sports, including Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The aim of the present study was to describe self-reported methods of RWL in a sample of competitive MMA athletes comprising of both amateur and professional fighters. The previously-validated Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire, with the addition of questions on water loading and hot salt baths, was completed anonymously online by athletes (n = 30; all male, n = 15/15 professional/amateur) from MMA clubs around Dublin, Ireland. All but one (97%) of the athletes surveyed lost weight in order to compete, with the average weight loss being 7.9% ± 3.1% of habitual body mass. The RWL score (mean ± SD) for this sample was 37.9 ± 9.6, and a tendency for higher [6.0 (95%CI; −1.1, 13.1) (p = 0.093; d = 0.64)] RWL scores for professional (40.8 ± 8.9) compared to amateur (34.8 ± 9.6) athletes was observed. Frequencies of “always” or “sometimes” were reported as 90% for water loading, 76% for hot salt baths and 55% for 24 h of fasting. Fellow fighters (41%) and coaches/mentors (38%) were “very influential” on RWL practices of these athletes, with doctors (67%), dietitians (41%), and physical trainers (37%) said to be “not influential”. RWL is highly prevalent in MMA across both amateur and professional athletes, and RWL scores are higher than other combat sports. Water loading and hot salt baths are amongst the most commonly used methods of RWL despite little research on these methods for body mass reduction or effects on performance in weight category sports.

Highlights

Rapid weight loss (RWL) is frequently practiced in sports that have weight class restrictions [1,2,3,4,5].Many of these sports include combat sports such as wrestling, judo, boxing and taekwondo, as well as other mainstream sports such as horse riding and rowing [2,6]
The percentage of habitual body mass usually lost in the overall weight cut preparation for a fight averaged 7.9% ± 3.1%, and 100% (85, 133)% of this weight loss was usually regained in the week after a fight (Table 1)
The present study establishes that a variety of methods for RWL are widely used by Mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes at amateur and professional levels

Summary

Introduction

Rapid weight loss (RWL) is frequently practiced in sports that have weight class restrictions [1,2,3,4,5] Many of these sports include combat sports such as wrestling, judo, boxing and taekwondo, as well as other mainstream sports such as horse riding and rowing [2,6]. Subsequent to the weigh-in, combat sport athletes generally proceed to regain often the majority of this weight from within a few hours up to 36 h before competing [7,8,9]. In professional bouts for MMA, the timeline between weigh-ins and fight time can vary depending on the organisation sanctioning the fight. Many organisations will follow the same outline as the professional bouts on their card (24 to 36 h before the fight), but under new rules set forth by the International Mixed Martial

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Results

Conclusion