COLUMBUS, Ohio – A word of caution about teenage female athletes and their parents: A shortage of calories can lead to a troubling syndrome that can result in long-term health risks.
Doctors and experts at Sports Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital say adolescent girls playing sports do not realize they need to ingest many more calories per day than they think to make for what they are burning as teens and as athletes.
Failing to meet their nutritional requirements can result in “female athlete triad syndrome,” a combination of low energy, low bone density and an irregular menstrual cycle which is more prevalent than previously believed, Dr. Anastasia Fischer said.
“Many girls are so active they need 3,500 calories a day because they are competing at a high-level,” she said. “Girls underestimate that food is fuel.”
Fischer says female athlete triad consists of three interrelated components: low energy availability often caused by not eating appropriately; a change in the girl’s menstrual period, known as dysmenorrhea, and low bone mineral density.
The syndrome can be the result of a serious eating disorder but can also be caused by a failure to take in enough calories and proper nutrition is for athletic performance, says Fischer, who is also a faculty member with the OSU College of Medicine.
Girls who are going more than 35 days in between periods, skipping occasional periods, if their periods have stopped, or if they are 15 years old and have not yet experienced a menstrual cycle should talk to their parents or a doctor, dietician Jessica Buschmann says.
She says athletes suffer from the female athlete triad in sports that promote leanness, like rowing and track, but also in sports where athletes are partly judged by appearance or wear more revealing attire, like gymnastics and dance.
Short-term consequences of the syndrome are a dysfunction menstrual cycle, which can lead to potential fertility issues in young adults. Long-term, the athlete becomes more injury-prone and takes longer to heal; bone mineral density can decline and they may begin to experience early stages of vascular disease, Fischer and Buschman said.