Maddi Osburn
Jul 11, 20203 min
Updated: Jul 27, 2020
Maybe it's NOT that you're not training hard enough, eating "clean" enough, or "thin" enough. Maybe, just maybe, it's that you ARE.
As knowledge has grown in this area, we have found that RED-S is not just unique to women - but men as well. RED-S is being used more widely as more research has found this syndrome affects many more aspects of health than menstrual function and bone health. It is currently suspected that women are affected by this condition more than men, but the jury is still out on this. RED-S is currently defined as;
“a mismatch between an athlete’s energy intake (diet) and the energy expended in exercise, leaving inadequate energy to support the functions required by the body to maintain optimal health and performance”.
This is one of my favorite meals, Homemade Salmon Pesto Pizza. This is store-bought Naan bread, loaded with pesto, salmon, red onion, brussel sprouts, spinach and topped with nutritional yeast.
Limited studies have been performed on men with this condition, but there have been many studies completed on women to provide a general recommendation on how to support optimal physiological function. It has been shown that a woman's optimal energy availability (EA) is usually achieved at a minimum of 45 kcal/kg of fat free mass per day (kcal = calories). Remember, energy availability is the amount of energy your body needs BEFORE exercise has been accounted for. This is the number that allows a woman’s body to support the body's basic functions for life.
For example, let’s take a woman who is 140# and assume 20% body fat. If you have less body fat, then you can expect your needs to be even higher than this.
140 / 2.2 = 63.6 kg
63.6kg - (63.6 kg x 0.2) = 50.9 kg
50.9 kg of free fat mass x 45 kcal = 2,290 kcal per day to support healthy physiological function (OUTSIDE OF ENERGY EXPENDED DURING EXERCISE).
This is a good target, but this number is still going to vary for different athletes. EA is still *relatively* new and there are no reliable measurements of this (yet!). It is a difficult measurement to nail down, but we have enough evidence to say that for most individuals an EA of less than 30 kcal/kg of free fat mass physiological functions are going to be negatively affected. Let’s take the above example to put this into perspective.
50.9 kg of free fat mass x 30 kcal = 1530 kcal (and remember, if you have less than 20% body fat your needs are going to be even higher!)
Now, let’s say you went out for a run and expended ~300 kcal.
1530 + 300 = 1830 kcal.
for those assigned women at birth: loss of menstrual cycles, for those assigned men at birth: low testosterone levels.
decreased bone mineral density.
abnormally low heart rates.
decreased immunity.
gut distress.
fatigue.
impaired recovery.
impairment of key metabolic processes; like energy storage for your next run.
muscle growth.
inability to consistently train well and hard.
This is why it is so incredibly important for runners, cyclists, swimmers (and many other athletes) to increase energy intake with increases in training intensity, frequency and duration.
Thanks for being here.
Maddi Osburn RDN LD
Do you think this could affecting you? Click here to schedule your free video phone consult with Maddi Osburn RDN LD.
References:
--International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S): 2018 Update: https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0136
Like this content? Sign up to receive this and similar content on our newsletter! Just go to the home page and scroll down to sign up.