Abstract
BackgroundWe hypothesized that an intervention designed to increase the energy and nutrient intake could serve as an efficacious method to restore normal menstrual functions in athletes and ballet dancers.MethodsIn this study, a 9-month nutritional intervention (NI) was conducted in 21 dancers and 31 athletes with menstrual disorders. Analyses of the body composition were performed, and the levels of LH, FSH, P, E2, TSH, T, PRL, SHBG, leptin, resting metabolic rate (RMR), energy and nutrient intake, total energy expenditure were estimated. The NI was based on an individual diet. The effects of the NI were controlled after 3, 6 and 9 months of use.ResultsThe NI resulted in a significant change of the energy and nutrient intake. After 9 months, a significant increase in the LH level among dancers was observed, while in female athletes this effect was seen after 3 months of the NI use. The 9-month NI resulted in the restoration of regular menses in 3 dancers and 7 athletes, respectively. Women with regular cycles had a higher percentage of the fat mass (FM).ConclusionsA non-pharmacological intervention in female athletes and ballet dancers with menstrual disorders can restore regular menstrual cycles, although restoration of menses may take more than 1 year. An increase in the body fat mass may be one of the most important predictors of restoration of menses.
Highlights
We hypothesized that an intervention designed to increase the energy and nutrient intake could serve as an efficacious method to restore normal menstrual functions in athletes and ballet dancers
It has been shown that energy and nutrient values of daily diets (DD) and energy availability have an important place in the etiology of menstrual disorders in female athletes
In the group of ballet dancers, as early as after 3 months of nutritional intervention (NI), a significant increase of DD energy value associated with an increase of fat, protein and carbohydrates intakes was observed
Summary
We hypothesized that an intervention designed to increase the energy and nutrient intake could serve as an efficacious method to restore normal menstrual functions in athletes and ballet dancers. We previously identified 31 female athletes with hypothalamic menstrual disorders, in whom treatment with a nutritional intervention included an individual diet and nutritional recommendations without any change in the volume and intensity of training. We decided to include ballet dancers to this study and continue the controlled nutritional intervention to assess the extent to which long-term improvement in the nutritional status would allow for menstruation recovery. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which ballet dancers with menstrual disorders were treated with a non-pharmacological nutritional intervention
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