Short-term severe LEA: mechanisms and performance outcomes 🪫
What happens to the human body.
Short-Term Severe Low Energy Availability in Athletes: Molecular Mechanisms, Endocrine Responses, and Performance Outcomes-A Narrative Review
Study Details
This new review outlined the key mechanisms and performance-oriented outcomes of short term (days to weeks) low energy availability (LEA: < 30 kcal/kgFFM) 🔬
Here are the key findings ⬇️
Key Findings
Physiological Changes Associated with LEA🫀
🧠 HPO Axis
⬇️ LH pulse frequency
⬆️ LH pulse amplitude
↔️ Oestrogen
↔️ FSH
↔️ Testosterone (varies drastically)
🦴 Bone Metabolism
↔️ Bone mineral density
⬇️ P1NP (bone formation marker)
↔️⬆️ CTX (bone resorption marker)
💪 Skeletal Muscle
↔️ Oxidative metabolism
↔️ Glycolytic metabolism
⬇️ Protein synthesis
⬆️ Protein breakdown
🧬 Whole Body Metabolism & Hormones
⬇️ Basal Metabolic Rate
⬇️ T3
⬇️ Leptin
⬇️ Growth hormone
⬇️ IGF-1
🔥 Inflammation & Immune Function
↔️ Inflammation
⬆️ Immune cell ROS
↔️⬇️ Cortisol (in some cases may vary)
🩸 Nutrient Availability
↔️⬇️ Plasma glucose
↔️⬇️ Muscle glycogen
⬇️ Plasma free fatty acids (FFA)
⬆️ Ketones
🏋️♀️ Short-Term Severe LEA and Athletic Performance
🏃♀️ Performance Outcomes
↔️ Countermovement jump
↔️⬇️ Rate of force development
⬇️ Maximal sprinting ability
⬇️ Short-intense performance
↔️⬇️ Endurance performance
Potential underlying physiological mechanisms are as follows 🔍…
1️⃣ Nutrient Availability
↔️ Plasma glucose
⬆️ Free fatty acids
⬆️ FFA clearance
2️⃣ Substrate Utilisation
⬆️ Fat utilisation
⬇️ Carbohydrate (CHO) utilisation
Short term refuelling may reverse some of these effects, such as…
⬆️↔️ Exercise performance
⬇️ Fat utilisation
⬆️ CHO utilisation
⬇️ FFA availability
Conclusion
There are various underlying physiological consequences of short term severe LEA, thereby compromising recovery, training adaptations and performance 🚨
These approaches should be avoided, or (if unavoidable) engaged under strict supervision with qualified practitioners 🛡️
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40539747/
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