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Care of the Young Athlete Patient Education Handouts
The Female Athlete Ta
emale athlete triad refers to the combination of Peatat ee the emale athlete
3 medical conditions—eating problems, menstrual
F
problems, and weak bones—seen in competitive uring a sports preparticipation eamination female
female athletes. Prevention of the female athlete triad is athletes are asked uestions related to the female
important because it can interfere with normal growth and athlete triad see below. f components of the female
development, cause injury, and result in loss of strength athlete triad are suspected, the doctor may perform an
and endurance. epanded physical eamination.
The following is information from the merican • t what age did you begin menstrual periods
cademy of Pediatrics about the 3 conditions and • ow often do you have a menstrual period
general guidance for prevention and treatment. • ow long do your periods last
Eat lem • hen was your last menstrual period
ating problems occur when an athlete eats fewer calories • ave you ever taken birth control pills, and when
than her body needs for growth, development, and • ow many meals and snacks do you average
eercise. ome athletes choose to limit their calories to each day
improve performance or appearance. ther athletes are • ist the foods and drinks you had yesterday.
unaware that they aren’t eating enough calories to meet the • ist the foods and drinks you try to avoid.
energy demands of their sport. The athlete may be eating
enough for a nonathlete, but not enough for an athlete. • o you eat or drink milk, calciumfortified orange
nadeuate food intake is called disordered eating and juice, yogurt, or cheese ow much each day
can result in low energy availability not having enough • hat has been your highest weight, and when
energy to fuel the body. or eample, if an athlete only • hat has been your lowest weight in the past
eats ,
calories per day but uses 3,
calories, then years
she is eating ,
calories less than her body needs. n • re you happy with your current weight
this case, the athlete will not have enough energy. This
can hurt performance, slow growth and development, • hat do you feel your ideal weight would be
and increase the risk of injury and illness. This can also • ave you ever tried to control your weight by
lead to an eating disorder, like anoreia or bulimia. dieting omiting aative use iuretics ercise
thletes of any sport may develop disordered eating, but • hat sports do you participate in
some sports place athletes at higher risk. These include • ow much time do you spend training for your sport
sports that emphasie leanness, such as gymnastics, dance, each week
diving, figure skating, longdistance running, and cross • ow much time do you spend eercising in
country skiing, or sports that use weight classifications,
such as wrestling, martial arts, and rowing. addition to your sports workout ie, etra running,
etal lem calisthenics, stair climbing machine
• ave you ever had a stress fracture hen
ot eating enough calories can cause menstrual periods to
become irregular (oligomenorrhea) or stop (amenorrhea). can be caused by not eating enough calories for energy
n the young athlete who isn’t eating enough calories, epended they are not caused by low body fat or the
menstrual periods may not start when they should. stress of eercise.
Primary amenorrhea occurs when menstrual periods don’t ea
e
start before years of age. Secondary amenorrhea occurs
when regular menstrual periods stop for 3 months or more. hen a young athlete doesn’t eat as many calories as her
Oligomenorrhea occurs when the time between menstrual body needs, and has menstrual problems, her bones do
periods is longer than 3 days. ll types of amenorrhea not develop the normal strength. hen this happens,
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Care of the Young Athlete Patient Education Handouts—The Female Athlete Triad
a yearold girl can have bones as weak as those of a f a lack of enough calories is the cause of the menstrual
yearold woman. he may more easily develop stress problem, it will be important that the athlete increase
fractures or, if severe, even compression fractures of the her food intake. he will need to eat all of the nutrients
spine. This decrease in bone strength will continue until her body needs, which includes carbohydrates, fats,
she has normal periods again but, even though she can and protein. t may be helpful for her to see a registered
regain some bone strength, she may never catch up to dietitian for nutrition counseling. The athlete should
where she should be normally. gradually increase her food intake until her menstrual
Peet periods return.
f it is difficult for the athlete to increase her food intake,
The female athlete triad can be prevented by eating enough she may need to decrease her eercisesports activity
calories, including fat, protein, and carbohydrates. ost instead. nce menstrual periods return, the athlete can
female athletes need a minimum of ,
to ,
calories slowly increase her activity again while increasing her
per day. ot only will this prevent menstrual problems food intake to maintain menstrual periods.
and weak bones, it will help the athlete perform better f f an athlete is not having regular menstrual periods, she
an athlete develops menstrual problems, she needs to see needs to eat servings of calcium per day. serving would
a doctor. t is not normal to skip periods or stop having be cup ounces of milk, yogurt, or calciumfortified
periods. f an athlete cuts out the fats in her diet, decreases orange juice, or ounce of cheese.
the amount of food she eats, loses weight, or skips periods, f an athlete struggles with increasing her food intake, it
she should tell her doctor. inally, if an athlete feels she may be helpful to have her see a counselor to work on why
needs to lose weight, she should consult her doctor first. eating enough is difficult for her.
Teatmet
f an athlete is not having regular menstrual periods, she
needs to see a doctor. The doctor needs to make sure there
are no other reasons for menstrual problems for eample,
thyroid disease.
otes
The information contained in this publication should not be used as a substitute for the medical
care and advice of your health care professional. There may be variations in treatment that your
health care professional may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
opyright ©
merican cademy of Pediatrics
ll rights reserved.
PAE F
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