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The Female Athlete Triad: A New Health Threat to Young Female Athletes
Female sports has steadily grown in popularity throughout
the last decade. Just like everything else there is more and more pressure
to perform well at all costs. A new threat to the health of young girls
everywhere has become more common and parents and their children should start
becoming aware. It is called the female athlete triad and has been
reported on HBO's Real Sports and in Columbus Monthly magazine, in the
past several months.
The female athlete triad is something that is relatively new
to the public, but has existed for years. It consists of three elements
that are linked together, yet separate. They are disordered eating habits,
amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. It has been just recently discovered that
all three of these factors contribute to the triad. It is recommended that
if one of the items is discovered, then the female should be tested for the
other two.
Female athletes have been cutting calories for years to try
and stay thin and small, especially in sports like gymnastics and running.
Athletes, though, due to their rigorous workouts, need more calories than the
average person. But, to most females, extra calories means extra weight
which means extra fat. What they seem to forget is that muscle weighs more
than fat, so most of the time additional weight gain is due to muscle
increase. To increase awareness, coaches and doctors are trying to educate
the athletes better on nutrition and eating right. Hoping to prevent the
beginning stages of triad before it develops.
The decrease in calories leads to amenorrhea, the absence of
the menstrual cycle. This is much more common in female athletes then in
the general population. When the bodies caloric intake is reduced and the
athlete is expending an enormous amount of energy for training, it produces a
caloric deficit in the body. If the
body doesn’t receive the minimum amount of calories it needs to function
normally, it starts shutting down the functions that aren’t necessary for
basic survival. One of those functions is the menstrual cycle. Some female
athletes have gone months without ever getting a period. This is considered the
first warning sign of the female athlete triad.
Another consequence of amenorrhea is the hormonal changes
that occur, specifically the loss of estrogen. Estrogen helps carry calcium to
the bones and this loss of estrogen contributes to the decreased bone density.
This, in turn, leads to the beginning of osteoporosis, a condition characterized
by weak and brittle bones usually occurring with the elderly. The teenage years
for females are really crucial to developing bone density. You hit your peak
bone mass between the ages of 20 and 30. If you don’t develop it properly, it
is very hard to correct. Repeated stress fractures are a good indicator of
osteoporosis. If this recurs with the female, she should get a bone density test
immediately. The sooner it is caught the better the chances of regaining bone
loss.
Female athlete triad is something that shouldn’t be taken
lightly. The damage that can be had with this illness can be irreparable. A
little education and some concern can help save the athlete from a lifetime of
pain.(Columbus Monthly, Sept. 2001)
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