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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1516149
This article is part of the Research Topic Combat Sports Athletes: Influence of Rapid Weight Loss on Psychological and Physiological Responses View all 6 articles

Fluctuation in Body Composition and Urine-Specific Gravity of Turkish Wrestlers in a Top-Level Official Wrestling Competition

Provisionally accepted
Ersel Dönmez Ersel Dönmez 1Ozkan Isik Ozkan Isik 2*Mario BAIC Mario BAIC 3*
  • 1 Institute of Health Sciences, Balikesir University, Balikesir, Türkiye
  • 2 Faculty of Sports Science, Balıkesir University, Balikesir, Balıkesir, Türkiye
  • 3 Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This research aimed to examine the fluctuations in body composition and Urine-Specific Gravity (USG) of elite wrestlers in a high-level official wrestling competition.Method: Thirty-one wrestlers in the Türkiye Senior Greco-Romen Wrestling national team participated in this research. Wrestlers were divided into weight loss and non-weight loss groups, and changes in their body composition and Urine-Specific Gravity (USG) were measured at three different times (beginning of the camp, weigh-in, and before competition). The duration between the beginning of the camp and the competition weigh-in time was considered as a dehydration process and the duration between the competition weigh-in time and before the competition was regarded as a rehydration process. In the data analysis, 2x3 repeated measures ANOVA was used.Results: It was determined that during the dehydration process of wrestlers who lost weight, there was a decrease of 4.02%, 2,50%, 14,62%, and 2,66% in body weight, FFM, FM, and TBW, whereas, during the rehydration process, there was a gain of 1.85%, 1,77%, 2,63%, and 1,87%, respectively. In addition, it was determined that wrestlers who lost weight had a 0.87% increase in USG during the dehydration process and a 0.41% decrease in the rehydration process. The results show that wrestlers cannot regain body weight and FM lost in the hydration fluctuation during a competition, but they can regain FFM, TBW, and USG. However, although it was determined that the wrestlers were statistically able to regain FFM, TBW, and USG, they could not return to the levels at the beginning of the camp.It was determined that before a high-level official wrestling competition, wrestlers still preferred weight loss practices and it was determined that they were exposed to fluctuations in their body composition and USG. It is thought that this result may negatively affect the wrestlers' health and competition performance during a high-level competition.

    Keywords: combat sports, fat mass, Hydration status, Rapid weight loss, Weight Gain

    Received: 24 Oct 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dönmez, Isik and BAIC. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ozkan Isik, Faculty of Sports Science, Balıkesir University, Balikesir, 10145, Balıkesir, Türkiye
    Mario BAIC, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, 10110, Croatia

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