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Cited by 30Sports Performance and TrainingEating Disorders and BehaviorsNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

Energy availability in male and female elite wheelchair athletes over seven consecutive training days

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Egger, Thomas, Flueck, Joelle Leonie·2020·Nutrients
DOI 10.3390/nu12113262PMC PMC7693577
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Abstract

Background: Low energy availability (LEA) is a major problem as athletes often restrict their energy intake. It has been shown that LEA occurs often in female and endurance athletes and in athletes from weight-sensitive or aesthetic sports. The purpose of this study was to investigate energy availability (EA) in elite wheelchair athletes. Methods: Fourteen elite wheelchair athletes (8 males; 6 females) participated. Data were collected using a weighed seven-day food and training diary to estimate energy intake and exercise energy expenditure. Resting energy expenditure and body composition were measured, whereas energy balance (EB) was calculated. Results: Measured over 7 days, EA was significantly different (36.1 ± 6.7 kcal kg−1 FFM day−1) in male compared to female (25.1 ± 7.1 kcal kg−1 FFM day−1) athletes (p < 0.001). From all analyzed days, LEA occurred in 73% of the days in female athletes and in 30% of the days in male athletes. EB was positive in male athletes (+169.1 ± 304.5 kcal) and negative (−288.9 ± 304.8 kcal) in female athletes. Conclusions: A higher prevalence of LEA was found in female compared to male athletes. A higher energy intake would be recommended to meet energy needs and to maximize training adaptation.

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  • Another study of EA estimates in wheelchair athletes reported that nearly the entire cohort fulfilled criteria of LEA across at least one 24-hour period during the week-long study.

    “Another study of EA estimates in wheelchair athletes reported that nearly the entire cohort fulfilled criteria of LEA across at least one 24-hour period during the week-long study.114”

    From 2023 international olympic committee's (IOC) consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) (2023) · cites this paper as [114]

    The Results (section 3; page unavailable) report LEA on 73% of analyzed days for female athletes and 30% for male athletes during the seven-day study. The paper does not state that nearly all 14 athletes had at least one day of LEA. Its conclusion that 13 of 14 had suboptimal EA concerns a different threshold and does not establish the claimed count. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Egger, T., & Flueck, J. L.
Affiliations
  • ETH Zurich (CH)
  • Institute for Sports Medicine, Swiss Paraplegic Centre, 6207 Nottwil, Switzerland
ORCID
Egger, Thomas
Venue
Nutrients
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2020-10-25
Volume
12
Issue
11
Pages
3262
ISSN
2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/nu12113262
PMC
PMC7693577
OpenAlex
W3094507376
Cited by
30
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 1
FWCI
3.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • ETH Zürich Research Collection (cc-by)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
energy availability, wheelchair athletes, energy balance, energy intake, exercise energy expenditure, sex differences, elite athletes, body composition, resting energy expenditure, dietary intake
MeSH terms
Para-Athletes, Adult, Basal Metabolism, Body Composition, Energy Intake, Energy Metabolism, Female, Humans, Male, Nutritional Status, Sex Factors, Time Factors, Diet Records, Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Sports for Persons with Disabilities

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