The Effect of the Weight Reduction on the Salivary Cortisol Levels of Judo Players
10.1265/ehpm.6.113
- Author:
Masahiro TODA
;
Kanehisa MORIMOTO
;
Sanae FUKUDA
;
Takashi UMEDA
;
Shigeyuki NAKAJI
;
Kazuo SUGAWARA
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
cortisol;
saliva;
weight reduction;
mental stress;
judo players
- MeSH:
Reduction (chemical);
Weight;
competition;
Salivary;
Levels
- From:Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
2001;6(2):113-116
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of weight reduction prior to a competition on the salivary cortisol level for first-rate judo players. Subjects were divided into three groups by the weight reduction rate. On the day before the competition, the cortisol levels of the low- and high-weight reduction group showed a tendency to decrease and were significantly lower than that of the non-weight reduction group (p<0.05). However, with regard to the change in the stress indices, there was a difference between the high- and low-weight reduction groups. In the high-weight reduction group alone, there was a significant increase in the stress indices on the day before the competition (p<0.05). These findings suggest that the HPA axis is affected during the relatively early stage of weight reduction and mental stress is increased at the higher weight reduction rate.
