THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICS

The female athlete triad consists of three inter­related components: low energy availability (with or without eating disorders), amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Female gymnastics is a sport characterized by regular exposure to high-impact prolonged physical training at an early age, requiring strict c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Theofanis Siatras, Dimitra Mameletzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) 2014-02-01
Series:Science of Gymnastics Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uni-lj.si/sgj/article/view/22339
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850048689145380864
author Theofanis Siatras
Dimitra Mameletzi
author_facet Theofanis Siatras
Dimitra Mameletzi
author_sort Theofanis Siatras
collection DOAJ
description The female athlete triad consists of three inter­related components: low energy availability (with or without eating disorders), amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Female gymnastics is a sport characterized by regular exposure to high-impact prolonged physical training at an early age, requiring strict control of energy consumption. Could this lead to the female athlete triad? The bibliographic data bases of PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect were used to identify relevant articles, using appropriate key words as Athletic triad, Eating disorders, Amenorrhea, Osteoporosis, Bone mineral density, Bone mass, Gymnastics and Adolescent. One hundred and thirty six papers were selected and their review was mainly focused on the occurrence of eating disorders, amenorrhea and osteoporosis in female gymnasts. The bibliography revealed that in gymnastics, each component of the female athlete triad alone or a combination of them may occur. It was concluded that, even though the mechanical loading on the female gymnast’s skeleton has a site-specific beneficial effect on bone mineral density, it cannot offset the detrimental effect of hormonal deficiency on the skeleton caused by chronic energy deficiency. Low energy availability (with or without eating disorders), menstrual disorders and premature osteoporosis may lead to decreased athletic performance and adverse long-term health consequences. A concerted effort among coaches, athletic trainers, parents, athletes, and healthcare personnel is optimal for the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of the female gymnasts’ athlete triad to preserve their health.
format Article
id doaj-art-8f2e8f9ee5734f0e9061ab6df6c2096a
institution DOAJ
issn 1855-7171
language English
publishDate 2014-02-01
publisher University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
record_format Article
series Science of Gymnastics Journal
spelling doaj-art-8f2e8f9ee5734f0e9061ab6df6c2096a2025-08-20T02:53:54ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Science of Gymnastics Journal1855-71712014-02-016110.52165/sgj.6.1.5-22THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICSTheofanis Siatras0Dimitra Mameletzi1Laboratory of Exercise Physiology–Ergometry, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GreeceSports Medicine Laboratory, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece The female athlete triad consists of three inter­related components: low energy availability (with or without eating disorders), amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Female gymnastics is a sport characterized by regular exposure to high-impact prolonged physical training at an early age, requiring strict control of energy consumption. Could this lead to the female athlete triad? The bibliographic data bases of PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect were used to identify relevant articles, using appropriate key words as Athletic triad, Eating disorders, Amenorrhea, Osteoporosis, Bone mineral density, Bone mass, Gymnastics and Adolescent. One hundred and thirty six papers were selected and their review was mainly focused on the occurrence of eating disorders, amenorrhea and osteoporosis in female gymnasts. The bibliography revealed that in gymnastics, each component of the female athlete triad alone or a combination of them may occur. It was concluded that, even though the mechanical loading on the female gymnast’s skeleton has a site-specific beneficial effect on bone mineral density, it cannot offset the detrimental effect of hormonal deficiency on the skeleton caused by chronic energy deficiency. Low energy availability (with or without eating disorders), menstrual disorders and premature osteoporosis may lead to decreased athletic performance and adverse long-term health consequences. A concerted effort among coaches, athletic trainers, parents, athletes, and healthcare personnel is optimal for the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of the female gymnasts’ athlete triad to preserve their health. https://journals.uni-lj.si/sgj/article/view/22339Eating disordersAmenorrheaOsteoporosisGymnastics
spellingShingle Theofanis Siatras
Dimitra Mameletzi
THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICS
Science of Gymnastics Journal
Eating disorders
Amenorrhea
Osteoporosis
Gymnastics
title THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICS
title_full THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICS
title_fullStr THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICS
title_full_unstemmed THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICS
title_short THE FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD IN GYMNASTICS
title_sort female athlete triad in gymnastics
topic Eating disorders
Amenorrhea
Osteoporosis
Gymnastics
url https://journals.uni-lj.si/sgj/article/view/22339
work_keys_str_mv AT theofanissiatras thefemaleathletetriadingymnastics
AT dimitramameletzi thefemaleathletetriadingymnastics
AT theofanissiatras femaleathletetriadingymnastics
AT dimitramameletzi femaleathletetriadingymnastics