The Effect of Weight Reduction on Reaction Times in Wrestlers in the U17 Category

Abstract

This research was conducted to investigate the effect of weight reduction on simple reaction times in U17 category wrestlers. The research consisted of 24 wrestlers with an average age of 15.41±0.77, an average height of 170.33±7.72 cm and an average body weight of 66.04±16.79 kg in the U17 category group competition held in Malatya. Hubbard Scientific 6027 device was used to measure the reaction times of the participants. The participants were given the instruction to lose 4% of their own body weight after having their height, weight, and basic visual and auditory reaction times measured. Measurements were taken again after losing 4% of their weight. The SPSS 17.0 package program was used to examine the study's data. As a result of the findings of the study, a statistically significant result was observed between the body weight pre- test and post-test values of the participant group (p<0,05). While there was a significant difference between the left-hand visual pretest posttest values and the right-hand visual pretest posttest values (p>0,05), there was no significant difference between the left-hand auditory pretest posttest values. As a result, while the left-hand visual reaction time remained unchanged, the right hand visual, right hand auditory, and left-hand auditory reaction times all suffered due to the athletes wrestling in the U17 category losing 4% of their body weight. According to the study, athletes who lose weight quickly will experience negative effects on their reaction performance. For this reason, it is crucial to maintain weight control throughout the season in both athletic and scientific aspects.