Table of Contents
What is relative energy deficiency?
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) is where the body is not taking in enough energy to meet the demands placed on it by the amount of exercise being performed. This is called Reduced Energy Availability.
What does RED-S stand for?
Some physically active people are at risk for Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport or RED-S.
Can RED-S affect men?
Previously called the Female Athlete Triad, it is characterised by low energy availability due to a caloric deficit. The condition, which was termed in 2014 by the International Olympic Committee, can affect both males and females, including elite and non-elite athletes.
What is RED-S?
Defined by the International Olympic Committee, REDS (‘relative energy deficiency in sport’) is a complex syndrome entailing ‘impaired physiological function including metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, and cardiovascular health caused by relative energy deficiency’.
How do you treat RED-S?
How is it Treated? Treatment for RED-S should involve an increase in dietary intake, a reduction in exercise, or both. Energy-rich supplemental drinks and exercise rest days are often initial steps. In collegiate athletes, weight gain is the strongest predictor of resumption of normal menstrual function.
What is the female athlete triad symptoms?
Signs and symptoms of the female athlete triad include:
- Fatigue.
- Weight loss.
- Bone loss.
- Absent or abnormal periods.
- Stress fractures.
- Fasting or limiting food intake.
- Binge eating.
- Self-induced vomiting.
Is Reds an eating disorder?
Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) is a syndrome in which disordered eating (or low energy availability), amenorrhoea/oligomenorrhoea (in women), and decreased bone mineral density (osteoporosis and osteopenia) are present.
How many people have Reds?
Prevalence rates of the entire spectrum of eating disorders and subclinical disordered eating vary from 0 to 19% in male athletes and from 6 to 45% in female athletes. The prevalence varies significantly among different sports.
Is RED-S an eating disorder?
Can anyone get RED-S?
RED-S can occur in any age or level of athlete. Young athletes or dancers are at particular risk of developing RED-S, as puberty is already a high-energy demand state.
Why do athletes stop menstruating?
Amenorrhoea is the absence of menstrual periods. Women who are elite athletes or who exercise excessively on a regular basis are at risk of developing athletic amenorrhoea. Causes are thought to include low levels of body fat and the effects of exercise-related hormones on the menstrual cycle.