Prevalence of nonfunctional overreaching/overtraining in young English athletes.
OBJECTIVE
Nonfunctional overreaching and overtraining (NFOR/OT) in adults can lead to significant decrements in performance, combined with physical and psychological health problems. Little is known about this condition in young athletes by comparison; thus, the aim of the study was to assess the incidence and symptomatology of NFOR/OT in young English athletes.


METHODS
Three hundred seventy-six athletes (131 girls and 245 boys, age=15.1±2.0 yr) completed a 92-item survey about NFOR/OT. The sample included athletes competing at club to international standards across 19 different sports. Athletes were classified as NFOR/OT if they reported persistent daily fatigue and a significant decrement in performance that lasted for long periods of time (i.e., weeks to months). Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov nonparametric tests. Significant predictors of NFOR/OT were identified using logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
One hundred ten athletes (29%) reported having been NFOR/OT at least once. The incidence was significantly higher in individual sports (P<0.01), low-physical demand sports (P<0.01), females (P<0.01), and at the elite level (P<0.01). Training load was not a significant predictor of NFOR/OT; however, competitive level and gender accounted for a small (4.7% and 1.7%, respectively) but significant explanatory variance of NFOR/OT (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Approximately one-third of young athletes have experienced NFOR/OT, making this an issue for parents and coaches to recognize. OT is not solely a training load-related problem with both physical and psychosocial factors identified as important contributors.
Children's Health and Exercise Research Centre, Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
Nuno F
NF
Matos
Richard J
RJ
Winsley
Craig A
CA
Williams
D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D054874:Athletic Performance; D012090:Cumulative Trauma Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence