Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38613083›Full record

SynthesisNutrients2024

The Practice of Weight Loss in Combat Sports Athletes: A Systematic Review.

Yuming Zhong, Yuou Song, Guilherme Giannini Artioli, Thomas I Gee, Duncan N French, Hang Zheng, Mengde Lyu, Yongming Li

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nutrients, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed
8.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Observational
  14. Reevaluating the definition of rapid weight loss in sports: a call for change.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025
    Review
  15. Weight loss practices in Chinese national and international-level Sanda athletes.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Yuming ZhongSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Changhai Road 399, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200438, China.ORCID 0009-0005-9672-8067
Yuou SongSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Changhai Road 399, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200438, China.
Guilherme Giannini ArtioliDepartment of Life Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, UK.
Thomas I GeeSchool of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7253-2055
Duncan N FrenchUltimate Fighting Championship Performance Institute, Las Vegas, NV 89118, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8215-7703
Hang ZhengSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Changhai Road 399, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200438, China.
Mengde LyuSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Changhai Road 399, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200438, China.
Yongming LiSchool of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Changhai Road 399, Yangpu District, Shanghai 200438, China.ORCID 0000-0001-9654-0199
Shanghai University of Sport · CNManchester Metropolitan University · GBUniversity of Lincoln · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aim of this systematic review is to comprehensively assess the weight loss (WL) practices in different combat sports (CS). The review protocol was preregistered with PROSPERO [CRD42023487196]. Three databases were searched (Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and PubMed) until 8 December 2023. Eligible studies had to meet five criteria: they must have been (a) written in English, (b) published in a peer-reviewed journal, (c) used a survey design to investigate the WL practices of CS athletes, and (d) reported the WL methods used by athletes using a five-point scale. Twenty-six studies (3994 participants from 14 CS) were included. This review found that (1) WL is highly prevalent in CS athletes; (2) many CS athletes started losing weight for competition as teenagers two to three times a year; (3) CS athletes usually lose <5% body weight in 7-14 days before competition; (4) increasing exercise and gradually dieting are the most commonly used WL methods; and (5) the influence of scientific practitioners on athletes is negligible. The habitual practices of CS athletes may be relatively harmless, but in some special cases, CS athletes also perform extreme WL practices. Scientific practitioners have little influence on their WL practices, which may form a vicious cycle of non-qualified influence.

Indexed as

AthletesWeight LossAdolescentAdultBoxingDiet, ReducingExerciseFemaleHumansMaleMartial ArtsSportsWrestlingYoung Adultbody massRWLweight cuttingweight cyclingweight management

Identifiers

PMID38613083
PMCPMC11013344
OpenAlexW4393945060

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.