Abstract
Female athletes who follow a diet that fails to meet energy and nutrient needs are at risk for musculoskeletal injuries, menstrual disturbances, and poor sports performance. Common nutritional concerns for the female athlete include low energy availability (EA) (i.e., energy intake from food remaining for metabolic processes after accounting for energy expended during exercise) and inadequate dietary intakes (i.e., not meeting sports nutrition guidelines) of carbohydrates, protein, essential fatty acids (EFAs), B-vitamins, calcium, iron, and vitamin D. Low EA and the associated nutrient deficiencies are more common in athletes who compete in weight-sensitive sports (i.e., aesthetic, gravitational, and weight category sports) because low body fat and mass confer a competitive advantage. Other athletes at risk for energy and nutrient deficits include athletes following a vegetarian or gluten-free diet (GFD). Careful dietary planning can help an athlete meet energy and nutrient needs. This review covers the nutrition issues associated with low EA and special diets (i.e., vegetarian and GFD) and describes strategies to help female athletes meet their energy and nutrient needs.
Highlights
Evidenced-based sports nutrition guidelines provide the foundation for developing diet patterns that support the recovery and training needs of active woman
For energy availability (EA), physical activities with metabolic equivalents (METs) >4.0 are recommended to include in EEE calculations [12]
Other concerns include inadequate intake of the essential fatty acids (EFAs), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which can lead to increased inflammation and oxidative stress and decreased gut calcium absorption further impacting musculoskeletal health [40,41]
Summary
Evidenced-based sports nutrition guidelines provide the foundation for developing diet patterns that support the recovery and training needs of active woman. Social, and environmental concerns are other reasons that female athletes choose to eliminate foods or food groups from their diets [2,3,4]. Athletes with inadequate EI and/or who exclude certain foods or food groups may not meet sports nutrition guidelines for key nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, essential fatty acids (EFAs), calcium, iron, vitamin D, and the B-vitamins [5,6,7,8,9]. Low energy availability (EA), which arises when active females do not meet their energy needs, and the associated health and nutrition consequences are described. The impact of vegetarian diets and GFDs are discussed, and their impact on health and sports performance in athletes are examined.
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