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Resting metabolic rate in weight-cycling collegiate wrestlers compared with physically active, noncycling control subjects

Abstract:

To determine the effect of multiple cycles of weight loss and regain on resting metabolic rate (RMR), we compared RMR between 12 weight-cycling collegiate wrestlers (x̄ age 19.4 y) with a minimum of three previous seasons of weight cycling and 13 weight-stable nonwrestlers of similar weight and body composition (x̄ age 20.6 y). RMR was measured before, during, and after a 6-mo wrestling season. Wrestlers exhibited a significantly higher baseline RMR compared with the control subjects (p < 0.05). During the season when wrestlers had lost weight for competition, RMR was reduced (p < 0.05) but was not significantly lower than that of the weight-stable control subjects. After a season of weight cycling and the final weight regain, the wrestler's postseason RMR was similar to preseason values and higher than the postseason RMR of the control subjects (p < 0.05). Participation in numerous cycles of weight loss and regain did not lower RMR in these competitive athletes, as has been previously suggested.