Weight cutting has been used by combat athletes for years. It is commonly used to insure that the athlete can compete in a different weight class. While that can help the athlete to be successful, if done incorrectly, it can be incredibly dangerous and even fatal. Cutting weight is most often done by restricting or increasing water intake which causes dehydration which then leads to a decrease in kidney function. The other greatly used source is sweating profusely, which causes decreased blood flow and letting the muscle strength to decrease.

Cutting weight has caused many professional wrestlers and fighters to have kidney failure. For example, C.J. Hancock, an MMA fighter lost consciousness during a fight. Hancock´s heart stopped and had to be revived twice by medical staff. When he got to the hospital he was diagnosed with kidney failure.

While cutting weight is dangerous, according to the Association of Ringside Physicians there are ways to be safe while cutting weight. One way to safely cut weight is to commit to year-round proper diet and training for proper weight control while maintaining a good amount of fluids.

Gabe Back, a student at CK who has wrestled for 3 years, gave a statement on how cutting weight affected him, he claimed “It caused me to have less energy and sort of slowed down my brain power , i had to decrease my water intake by quite a bit¨ , however he learned some handy tricks on a healthy way to cut his weight down.¨Drink about 6 oz of water before going to sleep and make sure that someone else is always monitoring you.¨ The reason Gabe suggests to have someone watching is to make sure that the diet  is not causing negative outcomes.

Although cutting weight in large amounts is normally done in sports, there are also people who overeat then starve themselves with the intention of reaching their goal weight. This is called bulimia. This disorder is extremely dangerous because your body would be lacking the nutrients it needs to perform successfully. While the disorder is different from what athletes do, it is still a form of cutting weight and can be just as dangerous if not more.

So whether someone is cutting weight for a sport or simply just trying to change your weight, it is important that you research and do so in a healthy way to insure that your body receives the nutrients that it needs.