Are your weight cuts damaging your relationship with food?

Written by Vicky Beckett, Wednesday 11th September 2024

As many as 90% of MMA athletes engage in some form of weight cutting before competition, research shows, with many shedding 5-10% of their body weight within days of a match.

Weight cutting is ubiquitous across jiu jitsu and martial arts, whether you’re dropping a couple of kgs for a local comp or losing 10 kilos for professional MMA fight. While this helps you secure strategic advantages, the long-term health consequences often go unnoticed in the quiet aftermath of an event. For some, this short-term tactic can spiral into lasting struggles with disordered eating. 

And, we get it – fighting is fun. Jiu jitsu can be revolutionary for your mental health. Comps are even more fun. But weight cuts should come with a warning. 

“The constant fluctuation between extreme restriction and binge eating post-weigh-in mirrors the pattern of disordered eating.”

Weight cutting is not just physically taxing, it alters an athlete’s relationship with food, body image, and health. The constant fluctuation between extreme restriction and binge eating post-weigh-in mirrors the pattern of disordered eating. And, while eating disorders are complex and multifaceted, what starts as an aggressive competition strategy can lead to a cycle that’s hard to break.

In fact, athletes who regularly cut weight are more likely to develop eating disorders than those who don’t. One of the largest studies on top athletes found an overall prevalence of eating disorders of 13.5% – far higher than figures reported for the general population, which is roughly 1.9%. As anorexia has a higher mortality rate than all other psychiatric disorders, including depression, this should be taken seriously.