Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to evaluate rapid weight loss patterns of competitive judo players and to assess its validity and reliability. We evaluated the reliability (n = 94), content validity (evaluation by 10 experts), discriminant validity (differences in scores between athletes with body weight below and above their weight class; n = 100) and convergent validity (correlation with Restraint Scale; n = 60). No item was considered unclear or ambiguous by more than 20% of the experts. The intraclass Coefficient Correlation was above 0.90 for all questions whose answers were parametric (P < 0.001; n = 94) and no significant differences were found between test and retest scores (n = 94 – Wilcoxon's signed rank test). Cronbach's α was 0.98 for scores obtained between test and retest. Non-numerical questions showed proportions of agreement > 80%; Spearman's Correlation between the Restraint Scale and the Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire was 0.62 (P < 0.001; n = 60). Athletes below their weight class (n = 50) had a significantly lower score compared with athletes above the weight class (n = 50; P < 0.001 – Mann–Whitney U test). In conclusion, the questionnaire showed good validity and reliability and could be used accurately to assess weight loss patterns of judo players. Verf.-Referat