Low Energy Availability: What Is It and How Does it Relate to Athletes?

July 10, 2023

Have you heard the term, Low Energy Availability (LEA), and thought to yourself, “yeah, I know that what that is.”? Many of us have and we assume it refers to that feeling we get when we’re sluggish and just don’t feel like we have enough ‘get up and go’. When I ask people about it, they often say something like, “It’s that 3pm crash that you feel when you just need that extra cup of coffee”. In reality though, Low Energy Availability is a state in which the body is in need of calories. It happens when either dietary energy (caloric) intake is too low or energy (calories) expended through exercise is too high. Either condition, or or a combination of the two, leave the body with not enough energy to support all the physiological functions needed to maintain optimal health.

When compared to the normal population, athletes are particularly at risk to experience LEA, and within that subset, female athletes are even more prone to it. In fact, in a 2019 survey of 1000 female athletes ages 15-30 years old across more than 40 sports, 47.3% of them were at risk for LEA.

–Which Athletes are Most at Risk? Athletes competing in the following types of sports are more susceptible to LEA:

*Endurance sports (XC, track, cycling, swimming)

*Aesthetic sports (gymnastics, dance, figure skating)

*Weight class sports (wrestling, karate, judo)

*Perceived performance benefit

*Requirement for competition

-The Reality:

*LEA results in health consequences and impaired performance

-When you are not consuming enough calories each day to meet the needs for your level of physical activity, your body begins to alter important systems.

*Ideal Energy Availability (EA) is crucial for athletes

-Consuming enough calories provides for the maintenance of body mass, allowing athletes to focus on skill development and maximize performance

TAKEAWAY: You cannot reach peak performance if you are not healthy enough to train. Consuming enough calories is CRUCIAL to success for athletes!

**For more information on LEA and other topics pertinent to female athletes, stay tuned for an announcement on my upcoming seminar!

Fuel the Fire: Optimizing Performance through Nutrition for the Fierce Female Athlete