PREVALENCE OF LOW ENERGY AVAILABILITY AMONG FEMALE ATHLETES: A TIER-BASED PERSPECTIVE FROM RECREATIONAL TO PROFESSIONAL LEVELS
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Paper in proceedings |
| Conference | 10th INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ON KINESIOLOGY |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.kif.unizg.hr/_news/18434/Proceedings%20-%20Final(1).pdf |
| Keywords | Energy Deficiency; Sports Women; Reproductive Health |
| Description | This study assesses the prevalence of Low Energy Availability (LEA) among female athletes across four performance tiers, exploring its association with health and physiological metrics, including body weight, injury prevalence, gastrointestinal symptoms, and menstrual function. Surprisingly, the risk of LEA did not signicantly vary across performance levels, challenging the expectation that elite athletes would exhibit a higher risk. This suggests that other factors, such as nutritional knowledge, substantially inuence LEA risk among athletes of all tiers. The signicant link between high performance and menstrual dysfunction further illustrates the complex eects of LEA on female athlete health. The study’s reliance on self-reported data indicates the need for further objective research to validate these ndings. |
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