Monitoring hydration status pre- and post-training among university athletes using urine color and weight loss indicators

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the hydration status pre- and post-training among university athletes using urine color and weight loss as indicators. Participants: Participants were 52 university athletes training for campus games in a developing country. Methods: Pre- and post-training urine specimens were compared with a standard urine color scale. Paired t tests were used to compare urine color and difference in body mass pre- and post-training. Results: The mean age of the athletes was 22.87 ± 3.21. A statistically significance difference (p < .01) was observed between pre- (4.31 ± 1.75) and post- (5.67 ± 1.45) training urine color values for males. Hydration status and weight post-training were statistically significantly different both at the level of p < .01. Conclusions: The results suggest that there is a link between urine color and body mass difference among the student athletes tested. Exercise increases hypohydration due to fluid losses, and therefore attention should be given to fluid supplementation and individualization of fluid intake for each athlete.

KEYWORDS:

• Athletes
• euhydration
• exercise
• hypohydration
• hyperhydration

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of Trinidad and Tobago and received approval from the South-West Regional Health Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.