The Investigation of the Effects of Short-Term Body Weight Loss on Elite Wrestlers on Anaerobic Performance and Reaction Time in Tournament Conditions

Abstract

Athletes, who engage in wrestling, perform weight adjustment before the competitions like all weight loss category sports. For this reason, weight management is a very important factor prior to matches. When the studies on weight loss are examined, it is seen that athletes lose weight in a short time close to the competition. This study aimed to investigate the effects of short-term body weight loss in elite wrestlers on anaerobic performance and reaction time during tournament conditions. Ten experienced international level male wrestlers participated as a volunteer in this study. Participants lost 5% of their body weight within 48 hours, in 72 hours; 1 kg tolerance was given over 5% of body weight. During this process, body composition measurement, Wingate anaerobic performance test (WAnT), Countermovement Jump (CMJ), and visual and auditory reaction tests were conducted. In this study, a randomized crossover design was used and applications lasted four days. Two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was used for statistical analysis. Due to short-term body weight loss in body composition, total body water (TBW) and fat-free mass (FFM) were significantly reduced. In contrast, there was no statistically significant difference in body fat percentage (BF %), visual and auditory reaction time, CMJ and average power (AP). However, there was a significant increase was seen in Peak power (PP) and fatigue index (FI). The results indicate that 5% loss of body weight within 48 hours caused significant changes in body composition and negatively affected the fatigue index. For this reason, athletes who lose weight should avoid rapid weight-loss practices that will cause sudden changes in body composition in order to maintain their athletic performance.