Nutritional Concerns for Female Endurance Athletes

Female endurance athletes must consume sufficient energy and nutrients to avoid amenorrhea (cessation of regular menstrual periods). Amenorrhea occurs for many reasons, including high physical stress, high psychological stress, inadequate energy intake, poor iron status, high cortisol levels, and low body fat levels. It is conceivable that female endurance athletes have all of these factors working against them.Although some of these factors are clearly out of a woman's control, food intake is not one of those. Female athletes should do whatever is within their means to consume sufficient total energy with a balanced nutrient intake to support good health. Amenorrhea is strongly associated with a loss in bone density and an increase in stress fracture risk. Additionally, low bone density during the running years places the athlete at higher osteoporosis risk later in life.