Weigh-in time affects hydration status and acute weight gain in combat sports: A comparison of judo and wrestling

• Main Authors: Bayram Ceylan (Author), Bilgehan Baydil (Author), Latif Aydos (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Universidad de León, 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.18002/rama.v16i2.7020; 2174-0747
• Keywords: Martial arts; combat sports; judo; wrestling; weight gain; dehydration; Sports; GV557-1198.995
• Source: Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas, Vol 16, Iss 2 (2021)

This study aimed to investigate the effect of weigh-in time on hydration status and acute weight gain (AWG). Twenty-seven men judo athletes and 23 men wrestlers voluntarily participated in this study. Body mass and urine specific gravity (USG) of the athletes were measured just before official weigh-in and competition. Two-way analysis of variance (split-plot ANOVA) with repeated measurements (time x sport) were used to determine differences in AWG and USG between groups and measurement times. In case of significant difference between sports, t-tests were applied. There was a significant main effect of time (p<0.01, ES=0.25) on USG. A significant difference was found in USG between official weigh-in and start of the competition in wrestlers (p<0.01) but not in judo athletes. There was significant difference in AWG and AWG% between sports (p<0.01). Moreover, most of the athletes presented high level of dehydration before both official weigh-in and competition. In conclusion, judo athletes could not rehydrate as much as wrestlers despite 15h of recovery. It can be suggested that the period between official weigh-in and competition would be shortened to prevent non-optimal hydration status and rapid weight gain, with caution to allow sufficient recovery period.