Weight cutting in judo: a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications

Abstract

Purpose: to conduct a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications devoted to the problem of weight cutting in judo using data from the PubMed database and VOSviewer visualization tools. Materials and Methods. To create the study sample as of December 31, 2025, a bibliometric analysis of the PubMed database was performed. The following search terms were used: «judo»; «rapid weight loss» or «weight cutting» or «dehydration» or «weight cycling» or «body composition»; «performance» or «health» or «physiology». The publication analysis covered the period from 1981 to 2025. The software VOSviewer 1.6.19 was used, including keyword co-occurrence analysis and direct citation analysis with the construction of bibliometric maps, cluster density visualization, and weighting by citations. Results: using VOSviewer 1.6.19, a total of 288 publications were identified. All publications were written in English. A substantial increase in the number of publications was observed in each five-year period, which can be explained by the growing popularity of the studied topic. A total of 1128 researchers from 622 organizations investigated the issue of weight cutting in judo. The publication activity of 1128 authors was analyzed, and they were grouped into 16 clusters. The most productive authors were Franchini E. (16), Real R. (10), Drid P. (8), Silva A. (7), Lakicevic N. (6), Langan-Evans C. (6), and Kirk C. (6). For network visualization, 117 keywords were selected and grouped into 5 clusters. The most prominent research topics were centered around the keywords «humans», «male», «martial arts», «body composition», «female», «adults», «athletes», «young adults», «weight loss», «adolescent». Temporal analysis of keywords showed an evolution of scientific approaches: early studies were mainly focused on fundamental physiological and biochemical mechanisms of adaptation to physical exercise without a clear specialization in combat sports. Later, research interest shifted toward applied aspects, particularly body mass reduction and nutritional support for athletes. Conclusions. The results of the bibliometric analysis indicate a clearly structured research field in body mass reduction among judo athletes, with a predominance of studies related to rapid weight loss, physiological adaptation mechanisms, and body composition control. The interdisciplinary nature of the problem, integrating sports training, medicine, and nutrition science, was confirmed. The contradictory evidence regarding the effects of rapid weight loss on performance and athletes’ health highlights the need for cautious application of such practices. Future research should focus on developing safe and scientifically grounded strategies for body weight management in athletes.