Many professional athletes have to qualify for their events by "making weight". We see this often with sports such as boxing and wrestling. The concept behind this is to avoid having a participant who is 125lbs have to compete against a much larger opponent. Such a weight discrepancy would cause an obvious advantage to the heavier opponent. In principal this seems like a great way to keep the sport fair and safe for the competing athletes. Unfortunately, these rule have led to abuses of the system in which athletes attempt to qualify for lower weight classes by "cutting weight". This is when an athlete, who should have a healthy body weight at one amount, quickly loses weight by any means in order to qualify and compete at a lower weight class.

Drastic weight loss can result in volume depletion, dehydration, loss of consciousness, and even death. This has been attributed to the deaths of fighters who drastically reduced their weight to “make their weight” before a fight and were not in good condition to endure the fight. The solutions that these athletes use to reduce their weight are usually not healthy choices. In most cases the person is simply reducing their body's water weight until they are able to weigh in. I have heard several stories where high school wrestlers used amphetamines or diuretics to quickly drop weight. This is an extremely unhealthy practice and should never be considered.

We generally think of “water weight” loss as a short term phenomenon. Diuresis with medications reduces the total body water and temporarily reduces weight. SO short term sometimes people will have lowered potassium (hypokalemia) and other electrolyte abnormalities which can be dangerous if they are severe. There are times when people can develop cardiac arrhythmias or even sudden death if the electrolyte abnormalities become severe.

Most of the long term effects of weight loss nowadays are very positive because most people are overweight. Weight loss resulting in a normal weight range dramatically improves the person’s health by reducing the risk of serious problems like heart disease stroke and diabetes. People who are seeking to lose weight and make a lifestyle change for themselves should increase the amount of exercise they do, while reducing their calorie intake and eating healthier foods.

High School athletes should think twice before attempting to rapidly cut weight for their sport. If they do decide to lose weight they should consult with a physician as to the minimum healthy weight they should attempt to drop down to. It is important for parents to be involved in this process to make sure that the child is not injuring themselves through a more dangerous weight loss method.