Awareness of Syndrome and Diet Could Save Athletes

A condition has been highlighted that affects young female athletes who dedicate their time to training.
The condition, Female Athlete Triad Syndrome, is easily preventable, isn’t something you can “catch” and if caught early, is reversible. It is simply caused by not eating enough food.
Athletes, particularly those whose sport relies on lean figures such as gymnastics or figure skating, are at risk of developing a low or negative energy availability in their bodies by not eating enough to cover their energy expenditure.
The condition can lead to a condition that causes brittle bones, osteoporosis, which usually occurs in older women. This can result in stress fractures which will put the athletes out of training for a while, possibly forever.
Low energy levels in the body can lead to a delayed or ceased menstrual cycle, caused by having too little energy for the body to carry out its normal functions. This is a good indicator of if your diet is too low in nutrition.
Although it is caused by an eating disorder, Female Athlete Triad Syndrome is not like a lot of eating disorders, in that a lot of the athletes are unaware they are eating too little and they aren’t doing it purposefully; they simply misunderstand how food should be used to support their training in a healthy way.
This is why it is so easily preventable and, unless large scale bone damage has already occurred, reversible. All it takes is education by a dietician or a nutritionist to educate the young athletes on how to take care of their body and use their diet to support their training.
If you train rigorously, do you eat enough food? You may wish to seek the help of a dietician if it is possible you are under eating for help in controlling your diet and finding a way to train and live healthily.