Energy Deficiency and Athletic Performance

Plain-language summary

Energy availability (EA) refers to the balance between daily energy intake and exercise energy expenditure. Athletically inadequate EA is defined as low energy availability (LEA). Energy deficits occur throughout life, from young athletes with a relative lack of energy in sports or the female athlete triad to older adults struggling with weight loss. Acute and/or chronic LEA can cause negative athletic and health outcomes in athletes. It is known that LEA, as an energy saving mechanism, suppresses the reproductive system and causes disruption of the menstrual cycle, as well as causing many interrelated endocrine-related physiological consequences by changing other hormonal pathways. Menstrual dysfunction due to LEA causes various risks as it can disrupt the EC during training and competition. Therefore, low EA may contribute to poor sports performance due to detrimental endocrine effects. Various parameters such as body mass and nutritional intake affect the performance of athletes, and LEA is frequently reported among athletes with intense training programs. LEA combined with high training volumes; It can cause negative consequences such as impaired protein synthesis/degradation rate, impaired hormonal and training response, increased risk of fatigue, and these can lead to decreased performance. Resting metabolic rate, which indicates the energy expended for basic body functions, is considered a potential objective indicator of energy availability. Regulation of dietary energy intake in the management of LEA in athletes covers a wide area in the literature. However, LEA is caused not only by a deficiency in energy intake but also by an excess in energy expenditure. In the light of this information, the aim of the study is to examine the acute period effects of the training program in which exercise energy expenditure is reduced in terms of energy availability and athletic performance.

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