Athletes Cut Weight Loss

Brendan Cowie
Athletes in combat sport (i.e., wrestling, boxing, etc.) compete in weight classes. This ensures competitive matches, reduces injuries, and allows more people to compete in the sport. To gain competitive advantages athletes will often lose 5-10% of their body weight shortly before a match, also known as ‘cutting’ weight. Cutting weight often achieved by complete stoppage of food and fluid intake combined with excessive exercises and sweating. This, unsurprisingly, leads to dehydration, irritability, and can even lead to fainting and hospitalizations. Additionally, the fatigue associated with dehydration and lack of energy from weight loss has a negative impact on performance. Nonetheless, cutting weight is a staple of the combat sport experience practice by athletes of all skill levels. This study used interviews, internet databases, and field observations to determine why it is that athletes cut weight despite the negative effects of dehydration, and the psychological repercussions of cutting weight.
Interviews lasted 23-64 minutes, were confidential, and asked informal about weight cutting in the athlete’s respective sport to encourage the athlete to answer with minimal direction or constraint. Interviews were recorded, then transcribed. Several international and national competitions were attended, and the athletes verbal and physical actions involving weight classes and cutting were observed as they talked to each other. Athletes at these events were also asked brief questions by the authors of the study as well. Additionally, internet searched were done with the key words ‘weight cutting’ and ‘combat sports athletes’. Statements post online by combat sports athletes on the internet expressing their opinions about the mental factors involved in weight cutting were