 | | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Female athletes consuming very few calories have a greater risk of stress fracture than teammates with healthier diets.
Researchers at Saint Louis University Medical Center in St. Louis studied risk factors for exercise-related leg pain, particularly stress fractures, in women. They surveyed women in four different sports: cross county running, field hockey, soccer and volleyball.
Text Continues Below
Women with eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia were more likely to develop stress fractures because of decreased estrogen production. Researcher Mark Reinking, Ph.D., reports eating too few calories will slow down the menstrual cycle and decrease estrogen. He adds, "This [eating too few calories] decreases estrogen in the body, which is responsible for bone development."
Reinking studied 76 female college athletes playing at a Midwestern NCAA Division I School. Researchers collected data regarding the athletes' eating behaviors, years in school sports, menstrual history, bone mineral density, body mass index, and incidence of prior leg pain.
Athletes who developed stress fractures were more likely to have abnormal scores on the eating behavior questionnaire and decreased bone mineral density.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2006;34:1500-1507
|
.gif)
