Issue 079

A new doctoral thesis published by the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, found many combat sports athletes are still significantly dehydrated from their weight cut when they compete. A researcher and nutritionist for the Swedish Olympic committee, Stefan Pettersson, analyzed and spoke to 70 combat sport athletes from varying disciplines including wrestling, boxing, taekwondo and judo, with his thesis suggesting that although there were advantages to fighting smaller opponents there were significant disadvantages too.

Results from Pettersson’s research suggests almost half of the athletes who cut weight for their bouts were still dehydrated the morning of the fight due to their inability to replenish themselves properly, leaving them with decreased explosiveness, endurance and strength. Pettersson explains: “Previous research has also shown that their mental performance may suffer, which could imply a poor perception and ability to make quick decisions.

“One way to deal with the problem would be to schedule the weigh-ins right before a match, or to do weigh-ins like today, but add a second weigh-in right before a match with a rule for how much weight an athlete is allowed to gain in between.”