The DOI matches its Crossref record; 28 of the 28 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Direct and indirect impact of low energy availability on sports performance
Abstract
Low energy availability (LEA) occurs inadvertently and purposefully in many athletes across numerous sports; and well planned, supervised periods with moderate LEA can improve body composition and power to weight ratio possibly enhancing performance in some sports. LEA however has the potential to have negative effects on a multitude of physiological and psychological systems in female and male athletes. Systems such as the endocrine, cardiovascular, metabolism, reproductive, immune, mental perception, and motivation as well as behaviors can all be impacted by severe (serious and/or prolonged or chronic) LEA. Such widely diverse effects can influence the health status, training adaptation, and performance outcomes of athletes leading to both direct changes (e.g., decreased strength and endurance) as well as indirect changes (e.g., reduced training response, increased risk of injury) in performance. To date, performance implications have not been well examined relative to LEA. Therefore, the intent of this narrative review is to characterize the effects of short‐, medium‐, and long‐term exposure to LEA on direct and indirect sports performance outcomes. In doing so we have focused both on laboratory settings as well as descriptive athletic case‐study‐type experiential evidence.
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“they do occur, can impair growth and maturation, reduce bone mineral density, delay recovery, compromise immune function and increase injury risk [14,15,107–109].”
From Dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and behavior in youth team sport athletes: a scoping review and call to advance research and practice (2026) · cites this paper as [108]
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“When overall energy intake is insufficient, adequate protein intake alone may not be enough to support key physiological processes such as muscle maintenance, immune function and training adaptation [14,108].”
From Dietary intake, nutrition knowledge, and behavior in youth team sport athletes: a scoping review and call to advance research and practice (2026) · cites this paper as [108]
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Self-citationIncreased Protein Intake Reduces Lean Body Mass Loss during Weight Loss in Athletes
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“Most of these studies with a 3 days to 3 weeks duration of LEA report neutral or positive effects on sports performance variables 23,52– 55 (see Potential neutral or positive effects of low energy availability on sports performance ).”
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“115 Indeed, supervised gradual weight-loss (0.5– 1 kg/week) combined with strength training has been reported to be safe, 113 increase lean BM, and strength-and power-related performance in male and female athletes, 62 male combat-sport athletes 23 and in female elite rowers 65 (Tables 1 and 2).”
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Cited by
Burke, L. M., Ackerman, K. E., Heikura, I. A., Hackney, A. C., & Stellingwerff, T. (2023) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2023-107335 · Cited by 59
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Self-citationJeppesen, J. S., Hellsten, Y., Melin, A. K., & Hansen, M. (2025) · Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports · doi:10.1111/sms.70089 · Cited by 22
Self-citationDasa, M. S., Friborg, O., Kristoffersen, M., Pettersen, G., Sagen, J. V., Torstveit, M. K., Sundgot‐Borgen, J., & Rosenvinge, J. H. (2024) · European Journal of Sport Science · doi:10.1002/ejsc.12129 · Cited by 15
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Metadata
- Authors
- Melin, A. K., Areta, J. L., Heikura, I. A., Stellingwerff, T., Torstveit, M. K., & Hackney, A. C.
- Affiliations
- Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Social Sciences Swedish Olympic Committee Research Fellow, Linnaeus University Växjö/Kalmar Sweden
- School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Science Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
- Canadian Sport Institute – Pacific Victoria British Columbia Canada
- Department of Sport Science and Physical Education, Faculty of Health and Sport Science University of Agder Kristiansand Norway
- Department of Exercise & Sport Science University of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina USA
- ORCID
- Venue
- Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-03-09
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 0905-7188
- 1600-0838
- Cited by
- 72
- References
- 28
- Language
- en
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