title: Physiological effects of weight cycling in female lightweight rowers.
abstract: Repeated cycles of weight loss and regain are referred to as weight cycling. It is a practice of many athletes who must achieve a low body weight. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a history of weight cycling results in sustained metabolic changes. Healthy female rowers with a history of dieting and weight fluctuation (n = 7) were compared to a control group of rowers who had never dieted (n = 7). Anthropometric and metabolic measurements were done at pre-, peak, and off-season during a 1-year period. At peak season the weight cyclers restricted their food intake and lost 4.2 +/- 1.8 kg, and subsequently regained 4.0 +/- 2.1 kg in the off-season. This was different from the controls (p = .003), who maintained a stable body weight at all times. No other group differences were observed. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) and triiodothyronine (T3) changed with time (p = .001, p = .000, respectively) in both groups, which appeared to reflect changes in fat free mass (FFM), not body weight. Long-term metabolic changes were not observed in these athletes.
authors.affiliation: School of Family and Nutritional Sciences, Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: McCargar
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Craton
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Taunton
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Birmingham
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D004038:Diet, Reducing; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D012621:Seasons; D013177:Sports; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004041:Dietary Fats; D007328:Insulin; D014284:Triiodothyronine