EATING ATTITUDES AND PRE-COMPETITION RAPID WEIGHT LOSS IN YOUNG TAEKWONDO FIGHTERS

BACKGROUND: Taekwondo is a martial art and a combat Olympic sport. Similar to other types of combat sports, Taekwondo fights are conducted between opponents grouped by sex, age and weight classes. Disordered eating behaviors are common in combat sports with weight classes, attributed to the athletes' need to remain within a specific weight range. Pre-competition rapid weight loss (RWL) is also common, and entails a health risk.

AIM: To assess the eating attitudes and the prevalence and techniques of RWL among young Taekwondo fighters.

METHODS: A total of 112 competitive Taekwondo fighters in national championships and regional competitions aged 12-21.5 years completed questionnaires pertaining to eating attitudes (EAT-26) and RWL techniques.

RESULTS: A total of 38% of the respondents reported precompetition RWL, with no significant between-sex difference. Common practices were training harder and eating less, but several potentially dangerous techniques were also described. Findings showed that: 70% of those reporting RWL were not assisted by another person, and the degree of RWL reached -5.5kg; 23%-40% of participants reporting RWL felt an improvement in some physical measure, yet 16% reported a decrease in subjective sport performance; 2.7% had abnormal scores on the EAT-26 questionnaire.

CONCLUSIONS: There is a high rate of pre-competition RWL in young Taekwondo fighters, even in lower levels of competition. Most athletes performing RWL were unassisted, and some utilized potentially dangerous techniques. Most athletes did not feel that RWL affected their sport performance, yet a significant proportion felt decreased levels of performance. Weight-class athletes should be consulted by personnel trained in sports nutrition, in both training and competition states.