Energy availability, not body fatness, regulates reproductive function in women.
The morbid consequences of menstrual disorders in athletes require medical diagnosis and treatment. Reproductive disruption appears to occur when energy availability (dietary energy intake minus exercise energy expenditure) falls below a threshold between 20 and 30 kcal x kgLBM(-1) x d(-1), and some women may be more severely affected than others by subthreshold energy availability.
Loucks
Anne B
AB
Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens 45701-2979, USA. loucks@ohiou.edu
D001823:Body Composition; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008599:Menstruation Disturbances / Q000378:metabolism*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013177:Sports