The Effect of Acute Fluid Consumption and Hydration Status on Percent Body Fat and Minimum Wrestling Weight

Cutrufello, PT and Dixon, CB. The effect of acute fluid consumption and hydration status on percent body fat and minimum wrestling weight. J Strength Cond Res 27(7): 1950-1957, 2013The weight certification program for wrestling requires a urine-specific gravity (USG) <1.020. However, the effect of acute rehydration on percent body fat (%BF) and minimum wrestling weight (MWW) is largely unknown. We examined the effect of acute fluid consumption on %BF and MWW. Twenty-five male subjects (18-22 years) were tested in a dehydrated state (USG > 1.020; DEH), 1 hour after rehydration (USG < 1.020; REH), and on a separate day in a hydrated state (USG < 1.020; HYD) which served as the criterion. Percent body fat was determined using skinfolds (SF), air displacement plethysmography (ADP), leg-to-leg bioelectrical impedance analysis (LBIA), and multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MBIA). Regardless of hydration state, %BF values were not significantly different when using SF (DEH = 13.35 +/- 4.03%; REH = 13.41 +/- 3.99%; HYD = 13.47 +/- 4.31%; p = 0.693) or ADP (DEH = 15.68 +/- 4.69%; REH = 16.19 +/- 4.57%; HYD = 15.88 +/- 4.72%; p = 0.145). The MWW after fluid consumption (REH) was similar to the criterion (HYD) when using SF (REH = 72.04 +/- 8.25 kg; HYD = 72.23 +/- 8.15 kg; p = 1.000) and ADP (REH = 70.38 +/- 8.93 kg; HYD = 70.81 +/- 8.50 kg; p = 0.177) methods. Conversely, hydration state had a significant impact on LBIA (p = 0.011) and MBIA (p < 0.001) %BF values resulting in reduced MWWs. When using the SF and ADP methods to assess %BF, modest amounts of water (approximate to 1 L) restored euhydration (<1.020) without negatively affecting %BF or MWW. Therefore, acute fluid consumption (approximate to 1 L) may offer a safe alternative in which the weight certification program can be expedited.