Health and Diet Issues in Women's Sports

Learn about Problems Female Athletes Encounter

Apr 9, 2009 Naheed Ali

Female athletes who participate in women's sports can encounter certain health and diet issues.

The opportunities to grow and develop are not exclusive to men when it comes to sports. Women win sports scholarships, participate in the Olympics, and come out just as successful as male athletes. Learn what issues are common among successful female athletes and how to address them properly.

Diet Issues and Women’s Sports

Female athletes should pay very special attention to their diet, because their food is important when it comes to improving their performance. They also need to meet certain energy needs and reduce problems caused by taking on a poor diet.

Women who play sports usually know whether their sport requires rigorous diet regimens. Gymnasts, skaters, and outdoor athletes are especially vulnerable to what is known as "the triad of the athletes." This triad of symptoms includes diet issues, eating disorders, and osteoporosis. It affects not only female athletes, but also non-athletic woman who are extremely thin.

Diet problems and issues in women’s sports refer mostly to a decrease in the consumption of foods high in energy, fat and protein. Many women athletes restrict their food before leading very intense training sessions, coupled with practices that cause vomiting and intake of laxatives and diuretic pills. This in turn, causes them to lose weight and body mass in significant amounts.

In terms of diet, it is recommended to always have an adequate caloric intake while practicing these sports. It is equally important to remember that today, there are many choices of foods that nourish and help to avoid risks to the health and life of female athletes.

Lack of Menstruation (Amenorrhea) and Women’s Sports

Although the real reasons for amenorrhea in the sport is not completely defined, increased psychological stress, strenuous and prolonged training may have something to do with this. In conjunction with the eating and diet disorders, menstruation fails to appear in some female athletes.

Take control and ask a physician to know when menstruation problems will interfere with your sports activities.

Osteoporosis and Women’s Sports

The reduction of body fat affects the production of estrogens (female hormones) that have a role in bone metabolism and are essential to achieve a proper balance of calcium in the body of a woman. A diminished amount of these hormones causes a loss of calcium and, consequently, demineralization of the bones.

Osteoporosis has been identified as one of the three symptoms included in the triad of female athletes mentioned earlier. Osteoporosis causes the bones to become weak and fragile, leading to other bone problems and alterations in bone density.

More from this Author:

The Anatomical Basis of Back Pain

Living with Achromatopsia

Side Effects of Danazol

References:

Carmichael KA, Carmichael DH. “Bone metabolism and osteopenia in eating disorders.” Medicine (Baltimore). 1995: 74: 254-67 [review].

Kopp-Woodroffe SA, Manore MM et al. “Energy and nutrient status of amenorrheic athletes participating in a diet and exercise training intervention program.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition. 1999; 9:70-88.

The copyright of the article Health and Diet Issues in Women's Sports in Women’s Health is owned by Naheed Ali. Permission to republish Health and Diet Issues in Women's Sports in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Health and Diet Issues in Women’s Sports