Do coaches and athletes share the same weight-loss practices and perceptions? Insights from 23 combat sport teams.

Meng, F, Zhang, Z, Langan-Evans, C ORCID: 0000-0003-1120-6592, Lakicevic, N, Weldon, A, Zhong, Y and Wu, D (2026) Do coaches and athletes share the same weight-loss practices and perceptions? Insights from 23 combat sport teams. Frontiers in Nutrition, 13. ISSN 2296-861X

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Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to examine whether coaches’ weight loss (WL) guidance practices and perceptions are consistent with those of the combat sport (CS) athletes they coach. Methods: This study employed an observational cross-sectional approach using a survey to ascertain the WL guidance practices and perceptions of CS coaches and WL practices and perceptions of CS athletes and adopted purposeful sampling. In total, 23 coaches and 396 athletes from 23 CS teams who met the inclusion criteria completed the questionnaire. Linear mixed models and generalized estimating equations were used to account for the nested coach–athlete structure. Results: Significant role differences were observed for habitual WL% and highest WL%, with athletes reporting greater WL magnitudes than coaches recommended. Athletes also reported shorter WL durations than those indicated by coaches. However, after accounting for sex and sport discipline, these role differences were attenuated, indicating that discrepancies were context-dependent rather than uniform across groups. No significant role differences were found for age began WL, perceived coach influence, or perceptions of WL effects on health, performance, and fairness, suggesting substantial perceptual alignment between coaches and athletes. Among 16 WL methods, a significant role difference was identified only for sauna use; this difference was conditioned by sex. Conclusion: Coaches and athletes demonstrated strong alignment in their perceptions of WL and coach influence. While discrepancies in reported WL practices were observed, these differences appeared to be contextually shaped by sex and sport discipline rather than reflecting a universal athlete–coach divide.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	coaching; sports nutrition; weight class; weight cutting; weight cycling; 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; 3210 Nutrition and Dietetics; 1001 Agricultural Biotechnology; 1111 Nutrition and Dietetics; 3210 Nutrition and dietetics
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports > GV711 Coaching G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Frontiers Media SA
Date of acceptance:	9 March 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	14 April 2026
Date Deposited:	14 Apr 2026 14:10
Last Modified:	14 Apr 2026 14:10
DOI or ID number:	10.3389/fnut.2026.1802696
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28373

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