Young Wrestlers Fast, Sweat to Make Weight

Weight Loss Their Greatest Opponent
---------------------------------
Before high school and college wrestlers can face their opponents in the ring, they must first vanquish one in the locker room, the scales that determine whether they're eligible to compete in a given weight class. In order to make the weight they want, many of these young athletes are using fasting, dehydration, diet pills, and laxatives as ways to lose weight quickly.

How widespread is this potentially deadly practice? A recent study of wrestlers in Michigan high schools found 7 out of 10 used at least one possibly harmful weight loss method each week of the wrestling session -- and just over half of them used at least two methods each week. About a quarter of the young wrestlers lost 10 pounds or more during the season, and 11% fasted longer than 24 hours before a match.

The study was published in the May issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

"This study reinforces what we've known for years," lead author Robert Kiningham, MD, tells WebMD. "While previous studies have looked at elite, highly committed wrestlers, we looked at everyone. Disturbingly, we found the same percentage of harmful behaviors as previous studies of elite wrestlers, suggesting these behaviors are widespread."

Kiningham is an assistant clinical professor and director of the sports medicine fellowship program at the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor.

Many wrestlers try to compete in an unrealistically low weight class because they believe this gives them a competitive advantage, says Doug Andersen, DC, nutrition consultant for West Coast Sports Performance and Sports Medicine Consultants in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and a nutritionist for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team.

"First, wrestlers should qualify for a sensible weight class," he says. "If you skip one meal the day beforehand in order to drop two or three pounds, that's one thing. But when someone tries to drop tremendous amounts of weight, 10 pounds or more, we're concerned. While they may not have an eating disorder in the strict sense, they certainly have disordered eating."

"In 1997 three healthy college-age men all died because they were trying to make weight for the wrestling team, using similar rapid-weight-loss regimens based on dehydration. Wrestlers put on nonpermeable clothing and exercise hard, and then don't rehydrate themselves. This is dangerous," says Samantha Heller, MS, RD, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center and an exercise physiologist.

Short-term studies have found rapid weight loss can lead to a decline in the ability to think clearly, loss of athletic strength and power, and mood changes, Heller says. No one knows if there are long-term effects, because long-term studies haven't been done.

The authors of the Michigan study conclude by saying, "Altering these entrenched behaviors will require a unified effort by coaches, administrators, parents, and wrestlers throughout the sport."

However, some coaches don't see any need for change.

"Wrestlers have a short-term goal, to make their weight," says Dick Bellock. "They may not eat for a day but we all skip meals once in awhile. Teenage kids get hungry. They make weight, they eat right afterward; that isn't necessarily binge eating."

Bellock wrestled in high school and college and is now the athletic director of McKay High School in Salem, Ore.

Bob Ferraro agrees.

"We already have safety measures in place," says Ferraro, executive director of the National High School Coaches Association, based in Easton, Pa. "Every wrestler must be examined by a physician, and the physician determines the weight class that wrestler will compete at. These issues have already been addressed."

Andersen, however, believes changes are needed.

"Today, wrestlers weigh-in hours before or the day before the match. They should have to weigh-in just beforehand. If someone had to wrestle in a dehydrated state, weak as a kitten, they wouldn't like it."

Since the data was collected for the Michigan study, the state has instituted a new program using mandatory weight standards based on a measured percentage of body fat. Kiningham hopes the new program will be effective in limiting pressures on young wrestlers to engage in unhealthy weight-loss behaviors in order to compete.

Source: WebMD

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

About The Author
------------
Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com and several other websites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com or if you would like to know more about Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health topics please visit us at AgeForce.com.

---

Panic After WLS: Im Succeeding at Weight Loss: Now What?

The fear of success arises in patients when they realize... Read More

2 Ways to Start Burning fat Quickly

1. Start Exercising first thing in the morning.As soon as... Read More

The Dangers of Liposuction

One Reality TV show, The Swan, thrives on makeovers. Often... Read More

Bye-Bye Bread

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love bread... Read More

Diets, Diets, Diets?Do They Work?

Almost everyone has attempted to follow diets and weight loss... Read More

Dieting Effects ? Diet Pills

When it comes to our weight and the appearance of... Read More

Putting it Off Until Im Thinner

I can't do that Until I Lose This Weight! If... Read More

Diet: Changing Your Focus

Have you ever decided to take a trip somewhere relatively... Read More

A Weight Loss Secret ? The Art of Detachment!

Have you ever worried about something so much it paralyzed... Read More

Are Weight Loss Supplements Worth It?

What do you think of the hundreds of weight loss... Read More

Conspiracy Foods, The Inside Story about the Mass Produced Foods that are Making Society Sick

Food manufacturers can easily manipulate a whole population by the... Read More

Fat Burning Exercise: Choose One That Can Revive Your Bodys Own Fat Burning Dynamism

Fat burning exercise is not merely one that will burn... Read More

The Miraculous Claims of the Zone Diet

One way of recognizing a fad diet is... Read More

Pushing Gastric Bypass: When to Talk, When to Keep Quiet

Sharing our bariatric stories is as personal decision as electing... Read More

Weight Loss Problems? Are You on the Path of Delusion, Depression, and Destruction?

Are you weighted down with delusion, depression and on the... Read More

Top 10 Weight Loss and Fitness Myths

WARNING: Don't weight train until after you've lost weight! No,... Read More

8 Ways to Rev up Your Metabolism

Yes it's true- and so unfair. As we get older... Read More

Dieting to Death

It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed with... Read More

Quick Weight Loss or Quackery

Cellulite - Reduce The Appearance --------------------------------- Sallie Elizabeth has always... Read More

The Solution to Healthy Weight Loss

The overweight and obesity epidemic is a worldwide problem. There... Read More

Little Known Facts About Changes In Our Diet

To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an... Read More

The Real Challenge Of Weight Loss

Weight loss is never easy. Although this is stating the... Read More

Are Weight Loss Supplements Right For You?

The debate about whether supplements for weight loss are healthy... Read More

How the Protein Diet Works

Protein is an essential nutrient necessary for maintaining good health.... Read More

Simple Plans for Social Eating and Travel

It's one thing to stick with your diet regimen when... Read More

Buyer Beware: Purchasing Fat Burners and Other Supplements Online

Each month I receive hundreds of e-mails from consumers who... Read More

Court Overturns Ban

In December 2003, the FDA incorporated an ephedra ban making... Read More

When is a Diet not a Diet? When Its a Lifestyle!

Dieting and weight loss is almost certainly the most lucrative... Read More

One Change Can Make All The Difference

Ever wondered why some people manage to keep their weight... Read More

Dieting? The Real Secret

Your Non-Conscious Mind is 98% of your full power.Your Inner... Read More

Personalized Weight Loss Plans -- Breaking the Yo-Yo Cycle of Failed Diets

Dieting will continue to fail most dieters, unless personalized weight... Read More

New Hope for Attaining--and Maintaining--A Healthy Body Weight

The percentage of Americans who are overweight and obese is... Read More

Walking, Water, and Weight Watchers: The 3 W?s for Weight Loss

I have been seriously working on losing weight for about... Read More