Question: My son is on his college wrestling team and has been spending about an hour a day in the sauna to trim down to fighting weight. His coach says this is fine, that wrestlers do it all the time. What do you say?

Dr. Hibberd's answer:

Using a sauna to dehydrate your body to lose weight is not a wise training move.

Your coach is misled and what he’s advising could be dangerous.

The only reliable, safe way to lose weight is to burn more calories through exercise than you consume through diet, for most people.

Using a sauna to shed pounds is unwise and unsafe, especially for a college-age athlete.