Author : Nicole Christine Strock
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (125 download)
Book Synopsis The Impacts of Altered Metabolism and Psychological Stress in Exercising Women by : Nicole Christine Strock
Download or read book The Impacts of Altered Metabolism and Psychological Stress in Exercising Women written by Nicole Christine Strock and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complex interrelation between menstrual dysfunction and bone health consequences stemming from a chronic energy deficit is called the Female Athlete Triad (Triad), impacting up to 60% of exercising women. The high prevalence and lasting physiological consequences of the Triad in women urges the utilization of objective and reliable methods of energy assessment for early identification of Triad-risk factors. Additionally, understanding the time course and magnitude of recovery for those who already present with Triad symptomatology is vital. Therefore, the overall purpose of this dissertation is to inform and improve our ability for early detection, prevention, and treatment of metabolic and reproductive consequences which stem from chronic energy deficiency. Specifically, I aimed to: i) evaluate measured-to-predicted resting metabolic rate (RMR) ratio as it relates to known physiological consequences of energy deficiency, and confirm the use of the threshold cutoff values to estimate energy deficiency (Study 1), ii) examine the relationship between RMR ratio and total triiodothyronine (TT3) in exercising, ovulatory, weight-stable women over a 12-month observational period (Study 2) and in exercising women with menstrual disturbances during a 12-month dietary intervention (Study 4), and iii) explore whether psychological factors, in addition to metabolic factors, also contribute to amenorrhea in exercising women (Study 3) and whether these psychological factors are altered with 12-month dietary intervention (Study 5). Key findings of this dissertation include: i) the RMR ratio is an objective and accurate measure to determine energetic status as indicated by TT3 in exercising women and different prediction methods require a specific threshold, ii) the RMR ratio has excellent reliability for repeated measures during a 12-month observation period in weight-stable women and is predictive of TT3 in exercising women with changing energetic status, iii) a 12-month nutritional intervention in exercising women with menstrual disturbances improves body composition with a delayed improvement in TT3, iv) energy deficient exercising women with menstrual disturbances exhibit disordered eating behaviors which may be related to underlying depressive characteristics, and v) a 12-month nutritional intervention in exercising women with menstrual disturbances does not worsen disordered eating behaviors, stress, or depression. Together, these studies contribute valuable information to improve our ability to identify Triad-associated health consequences and supports long-term nutritional therapy is a successful approach to remedying the energy deficiency underlying the Triad without causing unintended decrements to the psychological profile of these exercising women.