Is purposeful weight loss for competition associated with body appreciation and well-being among female powerlifters?

In weight class sports, purposeful weight loss (PWL) is often undertaken preceding a competition to gain a competitive advantage at a lower body weight. Investigations of PWL have been centered on (1) predominantly male competitors and (2) associations to physiological and performance outcomes with considerably less understanding of psychological outcomes. To fill these research gaps, the purpose of this study was to examine body appreciation and well-being in female powerlifters during a period of PWL for competition. Using a non-experimental longitudinal design, female powerlifters (N = 12; Mage = 29.42, SD = 9.23 years) self-reported data across four time points over nine weeks. The final time point was 24 hours before competition. Changes in weight were tracked through self-reported body weight. Body appreciation and well-being were measured using the Body Appreciation Scale-2 and Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, respectively. Participants lost an average of 3.08 kg of body weight (SD = 0.85 kg). Separate pooled time series regression analyses were used to evaluate the temporal association between body weight with body appreciation/well-being. Body weight was unrelated to body appreciation (B = 0.01, p = .89) and predicted well-being (B = –0.12, p = .02). Based on these findings, female powerlifters maintained appreciation of the body and improved well-being during PWL for competition. Given that current weight loss guidelines for weight class athletes are predominantly informed by physiological considerations, these findings help to understand psychological outcomes that may be used to further inform female powerlifters when preparing to compete.