Wisconsin minimum weight program reduces weight-cutting practices of high school wrestlers.
OBJECTIVE
Winconsin high school wrestlers were surveyed 1 year before (90W) and 2 years after (93W) a new program was implemented to restrict weight loss for competition. The Wisconsin wrestling minimal weight program (WMWP) included a minimal weight limit determined from percent body fat and a nutrition education program.


METHODS
A retrospective survey of wrestlers was conducted, with schools stratified to reflect school size and quality of the wrestling program.


METHODS
Respondents surveyed in 1990 included 713 wrestlers from 45 schools; 368 wrestlers from 29 of the same schools responded to an identical survey in 1993.


METHODS
Measures of weight-cutting practices, weight-loss methods, bulimic behaviors, and nutritional knowledge.


RESULTS
The most weight lost (MWL), the weight lost to certify (WLC), the weekly weight cycled (WWC), the longest fast (LF), and the frequency of cutting weight (FCW) all decreased significantly (chi 2, p < 0.05) among 93W wrestlers compared with 90W wrestlers. The results for the 90W group are as follows: MWL, 3.2 kg +/- 2.6; WLC, 2.8 kg +/- 2.8; WWC, 1.9 kg +/- 1.5; LF, 20.5 hours +/- 17.2; FCW, 6.2 +/- 6.4. The results for the 93W group are as follows: MWL, 2.6 kg +/- 2.6; WLC, 2.4 kg +/- 2.9; WWC, 1.6 kg +/- 1.4; LF, 16.5 hours +/- 15.6; FCW, 4.7 +/- 6.7. Weight-loss methods, including restricting food or fluids and use of rubber suits, declined significantly (chi 2, p < 0.05). Wrestlers exhibiting more than one of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R)-related bulimic behaviors decreased by 11% (chi 2, p < 0.05), but those exhibiting all five (1.6%) remained the same.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that the WMWP appeared to reduce unhealthy weight-loss behaviors among high school wrestlers. Other states should be encouraged to institute similar programs as recommended by the American Medical Association and the American College of Sports Medicine.
Oppliger
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Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA.
Landry
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Foster
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Lambrecht
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D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D002032:Bulimia / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015431:Weight Loss; D014922:Wisconsin; D014952:Wrestling / Q000523:psychology