The purpose of the thesis was to check parents' knowledge about the process and methods of rapid weight loss before their children's competition, to investigate how much parents are aware of their children's actions, whether they know how to help their children with this and to what extent coaches or judo clubs raise awareness and/or educate and involve parents in these processes. In the research, we included parents whose children compete in official competitions of the Judo Federation of Slovenia (JZS) in age categories from U12 to U21. 112 parents from various judo clubs across Slovenia were involved.
We found that almost all parents (90%) are familiar with the concept of reducing body weight before competition, but most of them only know a few basic methods. 56% of parents were convinced that their child does not use the process, but those who answered affirmatively stated that they participate in the rapid reduction of their children's body weight before the competition (54%). About two-thirds of them adjust their diet at home in order to regulate their body weight. The data showed that 55% of parents think they have enough information and knowledge for healthy weight regulation of their children before competitions. The results show that the majority of parents (87%) are informed by their own children about the need to lose weight before the competition and very rarely by the coach (7%), who in three quarters of the cases also does not communicate about the decision of their children's competition weight category before the start of the competition season. It can be seen that in 80% of cases the selected judo club never provided parents with education or at least with information/guidelines on the topic of rapid weight loss before the competition and maintaining body weight within the appropriate weight category. According to the data obtained, 68% of parents are eager to attend a lecture on a chosen topic under the auspices of the Judo Federation of Slovenia. Based on the findings of the study we suggest that parents, as well as young athletes and coaches, should be provided with more education on healthy weight management, organized by the Judo Federation of Slovenia and qualified experts in the field of sports and nutrition. It is also crucial to ensure better communication in the athlete triad of parent – coach – young athlete, which can contribute to a healthier development of young judokas and prevent potential negative consequences of inappropriate weight loss practices.
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