Perceive

When needed, athletes are recommended to have a gradual weight loss (WL) of 0.5-1 kg·week-1 through moderate energy restriction. However, the effect of WL rate on long-term changes in body composition (BC) and performance has not been investigated in elite athletes.

PURPOSE:

To compare changes in body mass (BM), fat mass (FM), lean body mass (LBM) and performance 6 and 12 months after two different WL interventions promoting loss of 0.7% versus 1.4% of body weight·week-1 in elite athletes.

METHODS:

Twenty-three athletes completed 6 and 12 months post-intervention (slow rate (SR), n=14, 23.53.3 yrs, 72.212.2 kg and fast rate (FR), n=9, 21.44.0 y, 71.612.0kg). The athletes had individualized diet plans promoting the predetermined weekly WL during intervention and four strength-training sessions·week-1 were included. BM, BC and strength (1RM) were tested baseline, post-intervention and 6 and 12 months after intervention.

RESULTS:

BM decreased by ~ 6% in both groups during intervention, but were not different from baseline values after 12 months. FM decreased in SR and FR during intervention by 313 vs. 234% respectively, but were not different from baseline after 12 months. LBM and upper-body strength increased more in SR than in FR (2.01.3% vs. 0.81.1% and 122 vs. 62%) during intervention but after 12 months there were no significant differences between groups in BC or performance.

CONCLUSION:

There were no significant differences between groups after 12 months, suggesting that WL rate is not the most important factor for maintenance of BC and performance after WL intervention in elite athletes.