Normative Data for Sweating Rate, Sweat Sodium Concentration, and Sweat Sodium Loss in Athletes: An Update and Analysis by Sport
Participants
n=1303 athletes tested observationally 2000-2017 (expansion of an earlier n=506 data set); American football, endurance, basketball, soccer, baseball
Protocol
Design: compilation of observational sweat testing (2000-2017) in 1303 athletes, expanding the authors' previously published data set (n=506) (from the abstract)
Sports compared: American football, endurance, basketball, soccer and baseball; between-sport differences tested, and re-tested on adjusted means after ANCOVA
Method
Standardized absorbent sweat-patch technique for local sweat [Na+], normalized to whole-body sweat [Na+]; whole-body sweating rate (WBSR) from body-mass change corrected for intake and urine/stool loss; rate of sweat sodium loss (RSSL) = sweat [Na+] × WBSR.
Key Data
| Metric | Endurance athletes | Highest sport (American football) |
|---|---|---|
| Sweating rate (WBSR) | 1.28 ± 0.57 L/h | 1.51 ± 0.70 L/h |
| Sweat sodium loss (RSSL) | 51.7 ± 27.8 mmol/h | 55.9 ± 36.8 mmol/h |
Other sports: WBSR basketball 0.95 ± 0.42, soccer 0.94 ± 0.38, baseball 0.83 ± 0.34 L/h; RSSL soccer 34.6 ± 19.2, basketball 34.5 ± 21.2, baseball 27.2 ± 14.7 mmol/h. The abstract gives no sweat sodium concentration values.
Key Findings
Endurance athletes: second-highest sweating rate and sodium-loss rate across the sports studied (after American football); between-sport differences remained after ANCOVA
Significant sport-specific variation — the authors conclude American football and endurance have the greatest need for deliberate hydration strategies
The SDs are wide (WBSR 1.28 ± 0.57 L/h): population means are a starting point, not an individual prescription
Practical Application
In 1303 athletes, endurance athletes sweated 1.28 ± 0.57 L/h and lost 51.7 ± 27.8 mmol sodium per hour — second only to American football. For a cyclist without a sweat test, that mean is the starting estimate; the SD says an individual can plausibly sit anywhere from ~0.7 to ~1.9 L/h (mean ± 1 SD).
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: weigh before and after a representative ride to replace the population mean with your own number, and retest when heat or fitness changes.
Individual testing beats population averages — the paper's own message about sport-specific variation.
Limitations
From the design as the abstract reports it: observational compilation of testing data (2000-2017); no intervention.
Sweat [Na+] was measured locally with an absorbent sweat patch and normalised to whole-body sweat [Na+].
"Endurance" is one pooled sport category in the abstract; wide SDs (e.g. 1.28 ± 0.57 L/h) mean the means are not individual values.
How this entry was checked and changed
Content correction 2026-09-27
"Sweat sodium concentration ~40 mmol/L (range 20-80)" -> the abstract reports no concentration values; removed.
"Cycling-specific data available for male/female populations" -> not in the abstract; removed.
Practical numbers "~1.0-1.5 L/h, ~40-55 mmol/h, ~1.2-1.3 L/h, >1.5 L/h" -> replaced by the abstract's mean ± SD and its arithmetic range; house practice labelled.
Sport line "cycling, team-sport" -> "general" (five sports, endurance not split by discipline).
2026-09-28: added Protocol and Limitations from the abstract (Europe PMC/PubMed PMID 31230518).