Abstract

When Lithuania’s high performance combat athletes seek to achieve the best results and to specifically decrease body weight prior to the competitions, it is necessary to balance their diet properly in order to maximize their physical capacity and sustain health. However, until now there has not been done any combat athletes weight reduction aspects research in Lithuania, unlike in other countries. Therefore we conducted a study to investigate and evaluate high performance combat athletes’ from Lithuania (n = 43) bodyweight reduction and dietary characteristics before the competition to evaluate the characteristics of links to sports development, physical condition and the results achieved. Athletes’ bodyweight reduction characteristics were investigated by the direct interview method using the valid look to bodyweight reduction form’s Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire (RWLQ). The measurements of body mass components were made using BIA via tetra-polar electrode method using 8 touch electrodes option. The study results showed that 88.4 percent of combat athletes before sport events reduce their body weight. They start to decrease body mass while being 12.9 ± 2 years. Athletes reduce body mass on average 7.0 ± 5.5 times per year, but the rate varies in very wide range: from 1 to 30 times per year. Although while reducing of bodyweight during each time athletes lose an average of 3.1 ± 1.5 kg or 4.6 = 2.1 percent of total body mass but 75 percent of respondents before sports events reduce their body mass from 6 to 9.3 percent in 3 days to 2 weeks. Meanwhile, at 24 to 72 hours before the event 50 percent of athletes reduce weight from 1 to 3.5 percent and 45 percent – from 3.5 percent to 4.6 percent (p = 0.002). On the other hand, 37.5 percent of athletes before the event reduce their body mass unsafely from 4.6 percent to 6 percent of body mass within 24-72 hours. Before sports events the aspects of combat athletes’ body mass reduction are determined by very frequent beverage consumption limit, number of daily meals refusal, fasting, and eating nothing, training in warmer rooms longer and more intensively than usual, visits to the saunas and inadequate food rations composition. While reducing their bodyweight rapidly combat athletes usually consume only vegetables and fruits, sometimes lean meat, fish, milk and dairy products, only one in five of them often use vitamins and minerals in food supplements, less frequently – the special carbohydrate and protein drinks food supplements for athletes. Better sport achievements are reached by combat athletes who have higher lean body mass (r = 0.328, p = 0.032), muscle mass (r = 0.309, p = 0.043), quantity of body protein (percent) (r = 0.324, p = 0.034) or a lower fat mass (percent) (r = - 0.308, p = 0,044), who more often reduces bodyweight before the events (r = 0.524. p = 0.001), fights in lower weight dass groups of athletes (r = -0.315, p = 0.040) and chose 24 – 72 hours lasting period of reducing body mass (rho = 0.359. p = 0.027). Verf.-Referat