OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) among a group of female athletes and compare with an age-matched group of female nonathletes. To study lifestyle factors that could play a role in the development of ID and IDA and compare these factors between the groups. DESIGN A controlled clinical trial. SETTING A senior high school for athlet...

BACKGROUND Female athletes have increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament rupture after the onset of puberty. HYPOTHESES Male athletes would demonstrate a longitudinal increase in vertical jump height compared with female athletes. There would be longitudinal gender differences in ground-reaction forces and loading rates. STUDY DESIGN Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. METHODS Sixteen...

BACKGROUND Persons with an optimistic attitude do not give up despite obstacles and failures. Optimistic athletes compete more out of hope for success than out of fear of defeat. The purpose of my research was to determine if optimism also promotes good health behavior in athletes. MATERIAL/METHODS In order to measure the role of optimism in shaping the health behavior of athletes, I examined...

It has been reported that the prevalence of amenorrhea in the general female population is 2-5% in young adult women, while this can be as high as 66% in certain sports events. Many investigations have found that prolonged amenorrhea in female athletes is associated with a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD). As exercise is an osteogenic stimulus in itself, it is possible that some bone los...

Screening female athletes for eating disorders is not performed commonly even though the American College of Sports Medicine, National Athletic Trainer Association, and International Olympic Committee have guidelines recommending screening. Eating disorders are more prevalent in the female athlete population than in the general population and carry short-term and long-term consequences that can...

The subjects of the study were 418 highly successful female athletes and 512 female non-athletes drawn from all over Nigeria. Recall procedures were used to ascertain the age at menarche. The study gave the following results: In general, over-all mean menarcheal age of athletes (14.13 years) was significantly higher (p less than .05) than that of non-athletes (13.57 years). Menarche was signifi...

Deficits in dynamic neuromuscular control of the knee may contribute to the higher incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in female athletes. There is evidence that neuromuscular training alters muscle firing patterns, as it decreases landing forces, improves balance, and reduces ACL injury incidence in female athletes. The purpose of this review is to summarise the evidence for a...

Disordered eating behavior (DE) and eating disorders (EDs) are of great concern because of their associations with physical and mental health risks and, in the case of athletes, impaired performance. The syndrome originally known as the Female Athlete Triad, which focused on the interaction of energy availability, reproductive function, and bone health in female athletes, has recently been expa...

PURPOSE The purpose of this project was to determine the incidence of exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) among U.S. Olympic winter sport athletes. METHODS Subjects included female and male members of the 1998 U.S. Winter Olympic Team from the following sports: biathlon, cross-country ski, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, long-track speedskating, and short-track speedskating. Asse...