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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1513129
This article is part of the Research Topic Combat Sports Athletes: Influence of Rapid Weight Loss on Psychological and Physiological Responses View all 5 articles

The Dual Impact: Physiological and Psychological Effects of Rapid Weight Loss in Wrestling

Provisionally accepted
Baris Sariakcali Baris Sariakcali 1F. Nese Sahin F. Nese Sahin 2*Levent CEYLAN Levent CEYLAN 3Ozkan Guler Ozkan Guler 2,4Bade Yamak Bade Yamak 5Gokhan Arikan Gokhan Arikan 6Gizem Ceylan Acar Gizem Ceylan Acar 7Gülsah Sekban Gülsah Sekban 8Mehmet Vakif Durmusoglu Mehmet Vakif Durmusoglu 9Hamza Kucuk Hamza Kucuk 10
  • 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Türkiye
  • 2 Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye
  • 3 Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Hitit University, Corum, Türkiye
  • 4 Ankara University, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
  • 5 Department of Recreation, Yasar Dogu Faculty of Sport Sciences, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Türkiye
  • 6 Mehmet Arabacı School of Physical Education and Sport, Harran University, Şanlıurfa, Şanlıurfa, Türkiye
  • 7 Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Mus Alsarslan University, Mus, Türkiye
  • 8 Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Sinop University, Sinop, Türkiye
  • 9 Ministry of National Education, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
  • 10 Department of Physical Education and Spor, Yasar Dogu Faculty of Sport Sciences, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Türkiye

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

    Athletes competing in weight-class sports often seek to gain an advantage by competing at lower weights. Athletes competing in weight-class sports often seek to gain an advantage by competing at lower weights. To achieve this, they aim to lose weight during the competition period, leading to various physiological and psychological changes. This study aimed to investigate the biochemical, hormonal, and psychological effects of weight reduction in elite wrestlers during the competition phase. Thirty-seven elite male free style wrestlers (age: 19.02±1.27) participated in the study. Samples were collected five days before and on the day of the match. A significant decrease in body weight was observed (p<0.05). Levels of creatine, BUN, sodium, hematocrit, hemoglobin, LDH, and cortisol increased, while albumin, testosterone, and FSH levels decreased. There were no significant differences in potassium, ALT, AST, TSH levels. State and trait anxiety scores of the wrestlers increased significantly during the RWL period. The study concluded that elite wrestlers experienced significant changes in physiological and psychological parameters during the competition periods. These findings underscore the importance of careful monitoring of RWL strategies by coaches and athletes to mitigate the adverse effects on nutritional status, psychological well-being, and physical performance.

    Keywords: wrestlers, Rapid weight loss, State-trait anxiety, Competition period, psychological

    Received: 17 Oct 2024; Accepted: 06 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sariakcali, Sahin, CEYLAN, Guler, Yamak, Arikan, Acar, Sekban, Durmusoglu and Kucuk. 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: F. Nese Sahin, Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye

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