Physical Education · Ch 2 — Children and Women in Sports
Low Energy Availability with or Without Disordered Eating
Low Energy Availability with or Without Disordered Eating
Low Energy Availability with or Without Disordered Eating
The Female Athlete Triad begins with an energy imbalance — a failure to match energy intake with energy expenditure — which often stems from an eating disorder. An athlete therefore needs to understand how to balance the energy she takes in against the energy she spends.
An eating disorder is a gross disturbance in eating behaviour. Disordered eating covers a wide range of harmful and often ineffective eating behaviours adopted in the attempt to lose weight, from simple calorie restriction all the way to the clinical disorders of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Athletes in events where leanness or a specific weight is required for performance are at higher risk. Coaches, team physicians, parents and other support staff should know the symptoms so that the problem can be treated in time; left untreated it can lead to long-term physiological and psychological damage and, in extreme cases, death.
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which a person tries to reduce body weight abnormally, driven by an intense fear of gaining weight or a distorted view of her own weight. To prevent any weight gain, she severely restricts how much she eats, and may vomit after meals or misuse laxatives, diet aids or diuretics; she may also exercise excessively. No matter how much weight is lost, the fear of gaining weight remains. Symptoms may include menstrual dysfunction, constipation, diarrhoea, bloating, unexpected weight loss, muscle weakness, stress fractures, bone weakness, overuse injuries and anxiety.