Experts warned that drastic methods to lose weight such as strict calorie restrictions and intentional dehydration may cause harm to an athlete’s health. Thus, they have issued new safe weight loss guidelines specifically designed for sports-minded person.

The new guidelines include use of body composition assessments to determine lean body mass against fat, slowly losing no further than 1.5 percent of the body weight per week, consuming a healthy and balanced diet that consists of all food groups, as well as reducing weight under the guidance of experts on nutrition, health and weight management.

Paula Sammarone Turocy, chair of the athletic training department at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and lead author of the guidelines, said that athletes have a rule to have a certain weight, most especially those involved in performance sports such as ballet, dance and gymnastics and traditional sports such as boxers, jockeys and wrestlers.

Athletes do not only have a huge responsibility to play a good performance, but to look good as well, she said.

Turocy said that getting the ideal weight to enhance one’s performance is not a problem. But, it is when athletes push themselves to the extremes, which can backfire to their body and performance. She explained that when it is done inappropriately it can interfere with the athlete’s performance.

The new guidelines on weight loss for athletes will be presented on Monday during the National Athletic Trainer’s Association annual meeting in New Orleans. It is now published in the June issue of the Journal of Athletic Training.