National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Safe Weight Loss and Maintenance Practices in Sport and Exercise (Position Statement) (Report‪)‬

Weight classifications in sport (eg, youth football, wrestling, rowing, boxing) were designed to ensure healthy, safe, and equitable participation (1); however, not all sports or activities in which weight might play a role in performance use a weight classification system. In activities such as dance, distance running, gymnastics, and cycling, weight and body composition are believed to influence physical performance and the aesthetics of performance. Yet the governing organizations of these activities have no mandated weight control practices. In 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics (2) published a general weight control practice guide for children and adolescents involved in all sports. In addition to the potential performance benefits of lean body mass and lower levels of body fat, long-term health benefits include decreased cardiovascular risk factors, reduced triglyceride concentration, possible increases in cardioprotective high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, increased fibrinolysis, reduced resting blood pressure, reduced resting glucose and insulin, and increased insulin sensitivity. (3) In females, lower body fat may also protect against breast and other reproductive cancers. (4) Although lean body mass has been associated with positive health benefits, negative health outcomes are associated with excessive loss or gain of body mass. (5)