There are four categories per gender at an Olympics, compared to a combined total of 16 at a World Championships.

Muhammad, a silver medallist at Rio 2016, said he has suffered "serious sickness" when attempting to reach the -80kg Olympic weight during his career.

"The sport needs reform," he told BBC Sport.

"I got to the stage where I was dieting and dehydrating to make weight and I would be throwing up and I had to get some of my organs checked out.

"The only reason I and other athletes get into these positions with our health is because we don't have enough weight divisions, it's unsafe."

Since the sport's debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympics there have only ever been eight taekwondo divisions with fighters of Muhammad's stature competing at either -80kg or +80kg.

However, the 27-year-old feels those divisions do not give heavier fighters enough options and wants parity with other Olympic combat sports like judo and boxing, which have 14 and 13 weight categories respectively.

"The jump from welterweight [-80kg] to heavyweight [+80kg] is crazy - can you imagine [boxer] Amir Khan if he didn't make welterweight having to fight [world heavyweight champion] Anthony Joshua - that's literally the difference in taekwondo," Muhammad added.

"Judo's top three divisions are -91, -100 and +100 kilos, with reigning heavyweight Olympic champion Teddy Riner [weighing] 131kg.

"If he were in taekwondo he could end up fighting someone 50kg lighter than he is, which sounds ridiculous, but that's the case in taekwondo."

World Taekwondo pitched for additional weight categories to be included in the programme for Tokyo 2020, but was turned down.

Last year International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach guaranteed taekwondo a place at the Paris 2024 Games but said the sport already had "enough" medal events.

Given the IOC chose to introduce new sports - like breaking, roller speed-skating and sport climbing - at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires this month but wishes to keep athlete participation at its current level, World Taekwondo faces a difficult battle to increase the number of medal events in its sport.

"All sports want more events and I can understand why taekwondo would want more, like they have at their world championships," IOC Sports Director Pat McConnell told BBC Sport.

"However, we have to find a balance and work within the set framework which states there must not be more than 10,500 athletes across the 28 existing sports and any new ones that come in for Paris 2024.

"Tokyo 2020 is set, but we know the proposals are coming [for Paris 2024] and we look forward to hearing what the sports bring to the table in terms of innovation."

Muhammad added: "This is a serious issue in our sport and it needs the IOC and World Taekwondo to sort it out."

The London 2012 bronze medallist will step up to the +87kg heavyweight division for the first time at the Manchester World Taekwondo Grand Prix on Friday, which is being shown live on the BBC Sport website.

Muhammad and the GB Taekwondo staff, who he says have always taken "great care" of his physical health, made the decision to move divisions after he "fought like a ghost" at Moscow's World Taekwondo Grand Prix in August.

"It's the right decision because I've outgrown welterweight," he told BBC Sport.

"It's a new challenge, but I'm confident in my ability, I know I'm the best and will show that out there."