Sports Nutrition - Essay Example

Female Athlete Triad Introduction Sports nutrition involves a study of nutrition and practice of nutrition and diet with respect to athletic performance. It deals with the quantity and quality of food ingested by athletes in relation to nutrient factors including vitamins, and minerals and supplements from organic substances containing proteins, carbohydrates and fats (1). It is an important part of training regimen as it, to some extent, dictates the level of performance and productivity (2). It is also considered in weight training regimen for sports such as power lifting, weight training, and endurance sports. Sports nutrition started with the ancient sports where water and nutrition were a greater part of athletes’ diet. The ancient Olympic Games which were the main sporting event during that period saw athletes get special treatment in terms of their dietary intake. It was of importance that their diet comprises all food groups. During that period alcohol was also drunk with the belief that it would help as an ergogenic aid and improve performance in the Olympics. Protein consumption began in the 1940s where building muscle results could be observed in strength and resistance training (3). This essay will define the term “female athlete triad” and its cause. It will also analyze literature on the different research done to determine the different nutritional facts in relation to female athlete triad that is already in existence. This analysis will depend on the type of research, whether longitudinal, cross sectional or randomized. The essay will also in shortly discuss the results from the different research on the effect on performance of female athletes. In conclusion, it will give personal opinions from the review of the discussed literature. Main Body Definition and Causes Most athletes are not trained on exercise physiology, thus they have little or no knowledge regarding the type of food group necessary for improving their performance. Sports nutritionists come in with the knowledge got from this study and the different research conducted to offer their services on the required food group that will help an athlete improve the part of their body they are working on. The available research on nutrition fails to show the effect of nutrition on sports performance. This explains the desire by most scientists to venture into this field (3). Female athlete triad is a combination of disordered eating or energy deficit, menstrual disturbances or amenorrhea, and osteoporosis (4). The symptoms of this are often unrecognized, but risk factor assessment can aid in early recognition. In the event of premature bone fracture, it becomes very difficult to recover lost bone mineral density. A regular balanced diet can help to quickly return the menstrual cycle to normal. One of the major causes of female athlete triad is energy deficiency (5). This often occurs when there is an imbalance between energy expenditure and food intake, i.e., the amount of food eaten by the athlete insufficient to meet the energy expenditure through exercise (6). This can be intentional where the athlete just prefers to eat less to avoid increasing their body size or due to increase in the exercise, which can be unintentional. Other athletes can have irregular eating patterns due to a busy work schedule, trying to incorporate work with exercise, or at times even a stressful life. Literature Review A study was conducted to determine the effect of a single or combined risk factor of female athlete triad on bone stress injury among a sample of four cohorts of physically active girls and women. The results showed that competitive sport athletes incurred severe injuries, compared to non-competitive sport women. Low bone mineral density was the most prevalent risk factor observed. The most risk factor combined was low bone mineral density and BMI< 21.0 (7). The authors concluded that even though low bone mass came out as the strongest indicator of future bone stress injury, the percentage of injury increased for women with combined risk factors such as BMI and amenorrhea. According to the authors’ postulations, bone stress injury increases with increase in the female athlete triad symptoms. The combination of the three symptoms of female triad area defines the cause of increased bone stress for female athletes. A second research related to longitudinal study on the effect of vitamin D as a dietary intake on bone density and turnover was done on female soldiers, who are considered to be athletes because of the continuous exercise regime. Vitamin D is essential in maintaining the health of bones and preventing stress experience with strenuous exercise. The research was to determine the amount of vitamin D intake in female soldiers and markers of bone turnover. The factors considered were the effect of time and race in relation to bone turnover (8). The results from the research showed that female soldiers experience changes in the level of vitamin D coupled with increased bone turnover. It also showed that the amount of vitamin D taken during training is minimal compared to the required dosage. Vitamin D affects the intestinal absorption of calcium. Lack of vitamin D may increase stress fractures which are more prevalent in females than in males (9). The author postulates that apart from causing bone stress, low levels of vitamin D can also lead to osteomalacia. A different research was set to determine whether low bone mineral density was associated with an increase in the triad risk factors in female athletes. The results from the study indicated that the factors associated with low bone mineral density included amenorrhea, leanness sport activity participation and low BMI. The combined effect of the triad risk factors led to increase in the reduction of bone mass (10). The author emphasizes the effect of prevalence of female athlete triad and its combined effect on bone mineral density. Conclusion Negative Effects and Recommendations Female athlete triad in an athlete causes more harm than is anticipated. Apart from the three side effects which make up the triad, there are others including psychological problems. These psychological problems can be anxiety issues, depression and low self-esteem (11). There can also be medical complications including cardiovascular problems, central nervous system, endocrine system, gastrointestinal, renal and skeletal. The most commonly known medical condition is anorexia nervosa whereby the athlete believes he is fat despite being so skinny. Most anorexic individuals often contemplate suicide. Although others recover, full recovery which covers menstrual function, eating behavior and weight is only 33% (12). Another negative side effect of the triad is infertility. Since the menstrual cycle of amenorrhic women ceases for almost three months, there is no ovulation. There is no ovarian follicular development, no luteal function and no ovulation. Thus, the persistent low weight and irregular menstrual cycles with abnormal breaks lead to infertility later in life. Osteopenia which leads to recurrent stress fractures is also a major problem. These fractures can lead to chronic pain if they do not heal well (13). Weak bones are a discouragement to athletes, thus even though the main reason for having a restricted diet was to maintain a small sized body to increase performance, the results can be devastating. It leads to reduced endurance, as the bones cannot support the pressure exerted on the ground and the body weight. Anorexic individuals choose a lifestyle where they create eating habits (14) that ensure they do not gain weight. These habits include acts such as inducing vomiting, use of diet pills, use of laxatives, and use of water pills. These can lead to alterations in the body chemistry that can be life threatening. To safely correct such cases would require hospitalization, which again adds to the cost of expenses. The safest way to ensure the discontinuity of female athlete triad is implementation of preventive strategies. The first preventive measure should be to educate athletes, their coaches and their parents about the signs and symptoms of female athlete triad, and the negative health consequences too. Regular checkups are necessary to determine whether there are any notable signs of this condition. This way the doctor can help discuss proper diet and menstrual cycles. Special attention should be given to athletes and anyone who experiences irregular menstrual cycles (15) should be checked by a physician. Coaches and trainers need to be informed that success is not limited to attaining a specific body weight and size but is dependent on talent, a healthy diet coupled with adequate calories, and proper training. References 1. Dunford M et al. Sports nutrition: a practice manual for professionals. Chicago, Ill: American Dietetic Association; 2006. 2. Burke L, Deakin V. Clinical sports nutrition. 4th ed. J R Soc Health.1994;114 (1):41-3. 3. Applegate, EA, Grivetti, LE. Search for the competitive edge: a history of dietary fads and supplements. The Journal of Nutrition.1997:869S-73S. 4. Smith JL et al. Advanced nutrition and human metabolism. Australia, United States: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning; 2009. 5. Santoro N, Genevieve N-P. Amenorrhea: a case-based, clinical guide. New York: Springer; 2010. 6. Brown JE et al. Nutrition through the life cycle. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, CENGAGE Learning; 2011. 7. Barrack MT et al. Bone stress injury and relationship between single and combined female athlete triad risk factors. 2013 April (cited 2013 May 6). Available from: http://www.femaleathletetriad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Barrack-abstract-2013.pdf. 8. Lutz, LJ et al. Vitamin D status, dietary intake, and bone turnover in female Soldiers during military training: a longitudinal study. Journal of the international Society of Sports Nutrition. 2012; 9:38. 9. Wentz L et al. Females have a greater incidence of stress fractures than males in both military and athletic populations: a systematic review. Mil Med. 2011;176:420- 430. 10. Gibbs JC. Evaluation of female athlete triad-related factors to identify low bone mineral density in exercising women. 2013 April 4 (cited 2013 May 6). Available from: http://www.femaleathletetriad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Gibbs-abstract.acsm_.2013.pdf . 11. The Triad. Female Athlete Triad Coalition. October 10, 2007 (cited 2013 May 6) Available from: from http://femaleathletetriad.org/index.html May 6, 2013. 12. ACSM. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. The female athlete triad. 2007; 39(10):1867-1882. 13. Bean A. Anita Bean's sports nutrition for women. London: A & C Black; 2010. 14. Brunet M. Unique considerations of the female athlete. Florence, KY: Delmar Cengage Learning; 2010. 15. Brown JE. Nutrition now. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning; 2011. Read More