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The Female Athlete Triad is a syndrome of three interrelated conditions that female athletes & players often expereince.

They exist on a continuum of severity, including: Energy Deficiency with or without Disordered Eating, Menstrual Disturbances/Amenorrhea, Bone Loss/Osteoporosis.

Read more about Female Athlete Triad - extract from MoJoManuals - helping teen girls enjoy competitive sport by overcoming some of the many issues they face!

The advice we offer in the Feeling Good zone – bone health, healthy food, rehydration, the menstrual cycle and smart training – is there to  help you train well and support you being a young woman as well as an athlete. We want you to be on top form and avoid habits which can lead to lack of energy, tiredness, disrupted periods - and even fragile bones. Any combination of disordered eating, menstrual
problems and bone health in female athletes (plus any associated energy deficit/lowered performance) is often described as the ‘Female Athlete Triad’.

Food and water to fuel your exercise - Eating the right foods at the right times will help avoid ‘Female Athlete Triad’ – other signs to look out  for are: feeling overly tired from excessive training, over exercising or decreasing the amount of food you eat. Abnormal eating habits restricting foods, skipping meals, eating disorders) can also result F.A.T. symptoms – causing low energy levels. These can disrupt your period and increase risk of injury. So, eat and drink smart to train smart! 

Keep track of your menstrual cycle - By using a period tracker app (or tracking the start and end dates of you period in a diary or calendar) you will be able to work out your menstrual pattern. Irregular or multiple missed periods can impact bone health by disrupting oestrogen levels. If you have missed periods or your periods haven’t started by the time you are 15 OR if you began breast development more than three years ago and haven’t started your periods, it’s worth arranging a check-up just to make sure everything is OK.

Bone growth – your bones are growing fast in the early teens so, again a healthy diet that includes calcium (see page 32), sensible training and period tracking are all essential to keep them strong.

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