Low Energy Availability

 Providing our bodies with adequate fuel is essential to longevity and sustainability in sport. To do so, our energy, or food, intake must match the energy our body needs to exercise AND perform essential daily processes.

One way to think about it is energy in (food) must match or exceed energy out (exercise). When input and output do not match, our bodies might not have enough energy resulting in low energy availability. This can happen through eating disorders or disordered eating as well as unintentionally under fueling due to a lack of knowledge around fueling needs (Mehta et al.).

Low energy availability is at the core of both the Female Athlete Triad and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). Athletes at all levels from elite to recreational can be impacted by low energy availability which is what makes spreading this information essential to athlete health.

Menstrual Dysfunction

Periods are powerful and tell us so much about the health of our bodies. When the body does not have sufficient fuel, energy is directed away from essential bodily processes like growth and reproduction.

This happens because our body, with the limited fuel it does have, must prioritize other more vital processes like regulating temperature, cell health, and movement. (Desouza et al). With low energy availability athletes can experience menstrual dysfunction or the loss of a regular period. This can present in the form of Oligomenorrhea, primary amenorrhea, or secondary amenorrhea (Mehta et al).

Impaired Bone Health

The bones that make up our skeleton play a key role in our daily lives as they provide support for movement, protection of our internal organs, creation of new blood cells, and control of minerals. Without enough energy for the body to go through its essential processes the bone remodeling process is compromised.

Remodeling of the bone means the removal of old bone and the replacement of new bone. Our bodies do this to be able to adapt to the mechanical load and strain of everything from basic daily tasks to big efforts in sport. (Dimitrios and Androulakis). A lack of proper fuel can lead to weaker bones that cannot rebuild and remodel after stress from exercise.