The Science of Healthy Menstruation in Exercising Women

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy I. Williams ◽  
Clara V. Etter ◽  
Jay L. Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
Poor Performance ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Energy Deficit ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Energy Availability ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Exercising Women ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Low Energy Availability ◽  
Menstrual Disturbances

An understanding of the health consequences of abnormal menstrual function is an important consideration for all exercising women. Menstrual disturbances in exercising women are quite common and range in severity from mild to severe and are often associated with bone loss, low energy availability, stress fractures, eating disorders, and poor performance. The key factor that causes menstrual disturbances is low energy availability created by an imbalance of energy intake and energy expenditure that leads to an energy deficit and compensatory metabolic adaptations to maintain energy balance. Practical guidelines for preventing and treating amenorrhea in exercising women include evidence-based dietary practices designed to achieve optimal energy availability. Other factors such as gynecological age, genetics, and one’s susceptibility to psychological stress can modify an individual’s susceptibility to menstrual disturbances caused by low energy availability. Future research should explore the magnitude of these effects in an effort to move toward more individualized prevention and treatment approaches.

Low Energy Availability in Exercising Women: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Slater ◽  
Rachel Brown ◽  
Rebecca McLay-Cooke ◽  
Katherine Black
Keyword(s):  
Low Energy ◽  
Energy Availability ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
Exercising Women ◽  
Low Energy Availability

scholarly journals A Proposal for a Standardized Approach to Inducing Low Energy Availability in Athletes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6679
Author(s):  
Iva Jurov ◽  
Nicola Keay ◽  
Vedran Hadžić ◽  
Samo Rauter
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Critical Duration ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Energy Availability ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Low Energy Availability

Low energy availability in athletes is an insufficiently researched phenomenon due to lack of a universal methodology. Current objective and subjective methods for assessing low energy availability lack in accuracy, are not used with a standardized approach and fail to provide comparable, consistent results. Research in male athletes is even more challenging than in females. It is still not known what the threshold for low energy availability is when negative effects on health and performance occur. This is why in this paper a two-way standardized, systematic and controlled protocol for inducing low energy availability in free-living athletes is proposed. Ways of inducing low energy availability in athletes are described with a systematic approach to ensure accurate results. We suggest this is how new tools for assessing low energy availability can be developed with less burden on the athlete and the scientist. Analysis of each proposed protocol provides a rationale for their use. Future research directions are suggested for determining the threshold for low energy availability and determining the critical duration for its negative effects. Finally, we suggest a practical outcome of using the proposed research approach for health practitioners and coaches in order to protect athlete’s well-being.

Low energy availability, not stress of exercise, alters LH pulsatility in exercising women

1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Loucks ◽  
M. Verdun ◽  
E. M. Heath ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pulse Amplitude ◽  
Pulse Frequency ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Exercise Stress ◽  
Energy Availability ◽  
Dietary Energy ◽  
Lh Pulsatility ◽  
Exercising Women ◽  
Menstruating Women ◽  
Low Energy Availability

Loucks, A. B., M. Verdun, and E. M. Heath. Low energy availability, not stress of exercise, alters LH pulsatility in exercising women. J. Appl. Physiol.84(1): 37–46, 1998.—We tested two hypotheses about the disruption of luteinizing hormone (LH) pulsatility in exercising women by assaying LH in blood samples drawn at 10-min intervals over 24 h from nine young, habitually sedentary, regularly menstruating women on days 8, 9, or 10 of two menstrual cycles after 4 days of intense exercise [E = 30 kcal ⋅ kg lean body mass (LBM)−1 ⋅ day−1at 70% of aerobic capacity]. To test the hypothesis that LH pulsatility is disrupted by low energy availability, we controlled the subjects’ dietary energy intakes (I) to set their energy availabilities (A = I − E) at 45 and 10 kcal ⋅ kg LBM−1 ⋅ day−1during the two trials. To test the hypothesis that LH pulsatility is disrupted by the stress of exercise, we compared the resulting LH pulsatilities to those previously reported in women with similar controlled energy availability who had not exercised. In the exercising women, low energy availability reduced LH pulse frequency by 10% ( P < 0.01) during the waking hours and increased LH pulse amplitude by 36% ( P = 0.05) during waking and sleeping hours, but this reduction in LH pulse frequency was blunted by 60% ( P = 0.03) compared with that in the previously studied nonexercising women whose low energy availability was caused by dietary restriction. The stress of exercise neither reduced LH pulse frequency nor increased LH pulse amplitude (all P > 0.4). During exercise, the proportion of energy derived from carbohydrate oxidation was reduced from 73% while A = 45 kcal ⋅ kg LBM−1 ⋅ day−1to 49% while A = 10 kcal ⋅ kg LBM−1 ⋅day−1( P < 0.0001). These results contradict the hypothesis that LH pulsatility is disrupted by exercise stress and suggest that LH pulsatility in women depends on energy availability.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Low Energy Availability in Competitively Trained Male Endurance Athletes

Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lane ◽  
Hackney ◽  
Smith-Ryan ◽  
Kucera ◽  
Registar-Mihalik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Relative Energy ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Endurance Athletes ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Energy Availability ◽  
Energy Deficiency ◽  
Cut Points ◽  
Low Energy Availability

Background and Objectives: Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) has been introduced as a broad-spectrum syndrome leading to possible dysfunction in numerous physiological systems, driven primarily by low energy availability (EA). Research in females has identified specific EA cut-points indicative of risk level for developing physiological and performance disturbances. Cut-points in males have yet to be evaluated. This study examined the prevalence of low EA in competitive (non-elite), recreationally trained (CRT) male endurance athletes. Materials and Methods: Subjects were 108 CRT (38.6 ± 13.8 y; 12.2 ± 5.4 h/wk training) male endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, triathletes) who completed a descriptive survey online via Qualtrics® and returned 3 day diet and exercise training records. EA was calculated from returned surveys and training records. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) and lean body mass (LBM) were estimated from self-reported survey data. Prevalence of risk group was categorized based on the female cut-points: at risk (AR) ≤30 kcal/kg LBM, moderate risk (MR) = 30–45 kcal/kg LBM, or no risk (NR) ≥45 kcal/kg LBM. Results: In this sample, 47.2% (n = 51) were classified as AR, 33.3% (n = 36) as MR, and 19.4% (n = 21) as NR for low EA. Cyclists had lower EA (26.9 ± 17.4 kcal/kg LBM, n = 45) than runners (34.6 ± 13.3 kcal/kg LBM, n = 55, p = 0.016) and all other sport categories (39.5 ± 19.1 kcal/kg LBM, n = 8, p = 0.037). Conclusions: The findings indicate this sample had a high prevalence of risk for low EA, at 47.2%. Only 19.4% of participants were at no risk, meaning ~80% of participants were at some degree of risk of experiencing low EA. Cyclists were at greater risk in this cohort of low EA, although why this occurred was unclear and is in need of further investigation. Future research should address whether the current female cut-points for low EA are appropriate for use in male populations.

scholarly journals Body Composition, Dietary Intake and the Risk of Low Energy Availability in Elite-Level Competitive Rhythmic Gymnasts

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 2083
Author(s):  
María Villa ◽  
José G. Villa-Vicente ◽  
Jesus Seco-Calvo ◽  
Juan Mielgo-Ayuso ◽  
Pilar S. Collado
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Energy Availability ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Elite Level ◽  
Low Energy Availability ◽  
Rhythmic Gymnasts ◽  
Recommended Level

The aim of this study was to analyze dietary intake and body composition in a group of elite-level competitive rhythmic gymnasts from Spain. We undertook body composition and nutritional analysis of 30 elite gymnasts, divided into two groups by age: pre-teen (9–12 years) (n = 17) and teen (13–18 years) (n = 13). Measures of height, weight, and bioimpedance were used to calculate body mass index and percent body fat. Energy and nutrient intakes were assessed based on 7-day food records. The two groups had similar percentages of total body fat (pre-teen: 13.99 ± 3.83% vs. teen: 14.33 ± 5.57%; p > 0.05). The energy availability values for pre-teens were above the recommended values (>40 kcal/FFM/day) 69.38 ± 14.47 kcal/FFM/day, while those for the teens were much lower (34.7 ± 7.5 kcal/FFM/day). The distribution of the daily energy intake across the macronutrients indicates that both groups ingested less than the recommended level of carbohydrates and more than the recommended level of fat. Very low intakes of calcium and vitamin D among other micronutrients were also noted. The main finding is that teenage gymnasts do not consume as much energy as they need each day, which explains their weight and development. Moreover, they are at a high risk of developing low energy availability that could negatively impact their performance and future health.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document