Menstrual Cycle

6. HEALTH OF THE ADOLESCENT ATHLETE

On a more serious note, the health of the adolescent athlete should never be underestimated. Even though they are athletes and should be fit and healthy, there are athletes which require professional medical assistance with certain conditions. For males and females health concerns are quite different, but do have a common issue at hand, i.e. body image.

For females, body image plays a big role in their athletic career. Females often start with abnormal eating habits which might lead into an eating disorder of some kind. Eating disorders are very hard to overcome and could easily lead to secondary health issues such brittle bones and a cessation of the menstrual cycle. This health issue is called the female

Cessation of the menstrual cycle does not happen unless there is an imbalance in hormone levels of the athlete. A hormonal imbalance that leads to the cessation of menstrual cycles is severe and does not happen out of the blue. Chronic nutritional deficiencies drives this imbalance which causes the body to respond by cutting out certain ‘unnecessary’ physiological processes such as the menstrual cycle. Disordered eating will most probably be active for at least a year before the menstrual cycle will be stopped. Often times, the coach will not notice something until it is too late. Osteoporosis is the last pillar of the triad and comes as a chronic result of the previous two pillars. Osteoporosis refers to bone loss due to nutritional deficiencies and hormonal imbalances, basically a condition which is only seen in the elderly. But, this triad is seen quite frequently, especially in certain sports where the emphasis on body image is of cardinal importance and is weaved into the character of the sport. The triad is often times seen in teams where the coach emphasizes leanness at all costs without adhering to sound nutritional principles. Phrases like, “be lean no matter what” or “a low fat percentage is everything in competitive sport” often do the rounds in team

Let’s look at some of the aspects standing out.

Here are some of the medical signs and symptoms of disordered eating:

• Amenorrhea – this means that the female athlete has their menstrual cycle at random times, i.e. only once or twice a year. Amenorrhea is normally seen in those athletes that once had a normal menstrual cycle, but due to hormonal imbalances from food restriction, menstrual irregularities are seen.

• Dehydration – often seen in athletes with disordered eating

• Gastrointestinal problems – this refers to the gut – the gut will not be happy to get very little food and when eating is done it is often times not nutritional food

• Hypothermia (cold intolerance) – due to decreased body fat levels, these athletes will not be able to withstand cold temperatures very well in comparison to their normal