By: Dr. Sarah McMullin April 9th, 2024
RED-S
Today, Dr. Sarah McMullin came to talk to us about RED-S and FAT. She is active in Pediatrics and Sports medicine at the University of South Alabama. RED-S is the Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports. It used to be known as the Female Athlete Triad (FAT). RED-S commonly affects distance runners, gymnasts, divers, cyclers, rowers, and high-performance athletes. These athletes have a typical look that they believe they must fit, which can lead to some of the beginnings of RED-S, like eating disorders or unbalanced diets. People diagnosed with RED-S have a low energy availability, meaning there is a large difference in their energy input and output. This can leave the body with not enough energy to function and run its systems adequately.
Women who have been diagnosed with RED-S have been known to have menstrual irregularities. This is one of the reasons that RED-S was thought of as a female-dominated condition. These women either have Amenorrhea, which is no menstrual cycle by the age of 16, or Oligomenorrhea, which is a cycle that is greater than 35 days in duration. This also leads to women having a 93% higher chance of having bone fractures. This is because the body is not producing enough Estrogen and Testosterone to support the bones. This will lead to low bone mineral density. Women who don't have a period lose 2-3% of their bone mass.
Some things that may be showing signs of RED-S are being underweight with a low BMI, recent weight loss or dieting without weight loss, low energy, feeling cold all the time, decreased performance ability, infrequent menstrual periods, frequent injuries, and longer recovery needed after harder workouts. The best solution to RED-S is prevention. You must ensure you are eating enough calories to support your energy output.
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