Abstract
BackgroundIn Olympic combat sports, weight cutting is a common practice aimed to take advantage of competing in weight divisions below the athlete's normal weight. Fluid and food restriction in combination with dehydration (sauna and/or exercise induced profuse sweating) are common weight cut methods. However, the resultant hypohydration could adversely affect health and performance outcomes.PurposeThe aim of this study is to determine which of the routinely used non-invasive measures of dehydration best track urine osmolality, the gold standard non-invasive test.MethodImmediately prior to the official weigh-in of three National Championships, the hydration status of 345 athletes of Olympic combat sports (i.e., taekwondo, boxing and wrestling) was determined using five separate techniques: i) urine osmolality (UOSM), ii) urine specific gravity (USG), iii) urine color (UCOL), iv) bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and v) thirst perception scale (TPS). All techniques were correlated with UOSM divided into three groups: euhydrated (G1; UOSM 250–700 mOsm·kg H2O−1), dehydrated (G2; UOSM 701–1080 mOsm·kg H2O−1), and severely dehydrated (G3; UOSM 1081–1500 mOsm·kg H2O−1).ResultsWe found a positive high correlation between the UOSM and USG (r = 0.89: p = 0.000), although this relationship lost strength as dehydration increased (G1 r = 0.92; G2 r = 0.73; and G3 r = 0.65; p = 0.000). UCOL showed a moderate although significant correlation when considering the whole sample (r = 0.743: p = 0.000) and G1 (r = 0.702: p = 0.000) but low correlation for the two dehydrated groups (r = 0.498–0.398). TPS and BIA showed very low correlation sizes for all groups assessed.ConclusionIn a wide range of pre-competitive hydration status (UOSM 250–1500 mOsm·kg H2O−1), USG is highly associated with UOSM while being a more affordable and easy to use technique. UCOL is a suitable tool when USG is not available. However, BIA or TPS are not sensitive enough to detect hypohydration at official weight-in before an Olympic combat championship.
Highlights
Severe dehydration has physiological consequences negatively affecting health and athletic performance
In a wide range of pre-competitive hydration status (UOSM 250–1500 mOsm?kg H2O21), Urine specific gravity (USG) is highly associated with urine osmolality (UOSM) while being a more affordable and easy to use technique
A high linear and positive correlation was detected between USG and UOSMO in the whole sample (r = 0.89; p = 0.000; n = 345)
Summary
Severe dehydration has physiological consequences negatively affecting health and athletic performance. Body water losses exceeding 2% of body weight reduce physical work capacity and exercise performance [1,2,3] and higher dehydration levels (i.e..4– 5%) has been reported to increase heat-stroke risk [1,4] These adverse effects include impaired glycogen use [9], increases in core temperature inducing central nervous system fatigue [10,11], cardiovascular strain [12,13] and loss of efficacy of the metabolic acid buffer system [14]. All these effects could compromise health and physical performance in military personnel, firemen, athletes training and competing in hot environments, or those involved in Olympic weight-class sports (e.g. wrestling, boxing, judo, taekwondo and weightlifting). Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine which of the routinely used non-invasive measures of dehydration best track urine osmolality, the gold standard non-invasive test
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
