The number of women taking advantage of opportunities to engage in physically demanding activities, both recreational and in the job force. A woman recently took first place in a national ultra-marathon race, beating both her female and male competitors. Increasing numbers of women are becoming firefighters, police officers, construction workers, etc. The effects of Title IX have been far-reaching and significant.
As more women train and push their bodies to higher limits, however, several important health issues need to be addressed. Two areas of concern receiving a lot of attention in recent years are the female triad ? disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis; and exercise and menopause. This article is intended to provide information to help women and the individuals who train them to design medically sound physical conditioning programs.
The female triad
Unfortunately, some athletic women are at risk for developing one or more of three medical disorders collectively known as the female triad. The female triad refers to the inter-relatedness of three medical disorders: disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Young women, driven to excel in their chosen sports and pressured to fit a specific body image (e.g., leanness, low percent body fat, or lower weight) to attain their performance goals, place themselves at risk for developing disordered eating patterns. Such eating behavior may lead to menstrual dysfunction and, subsequently, premature osteoporosis. Alone, each disorder is a significant medical concern but, collectively, they pose more serious health consequences and a higher risk of mortality.
Eating disorders and exercise. Disordered eating refers to the spectrum of abnormal patterns of eating, including behaviors such as:
- Binging, purging or both
- Food restriction
- Prolonged fasting
- Use of diet pills, diuretics, laxatives
- Inappropriate thought patterns, such as a preoccupation with food, dissatisfaction with one?s body, fear of becoming fat and a distorted body image.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are at the extreme end of the disordered eating spectrum. Anorexia nervosa is the syndrome of self-imposed starvation and distorted body image. One percent of the general female population suffers from this disorder, and nearly seven percent of all ballet dancers and gymnasts. Some anorexic women are indistinguishable from high-performance athletes. It is essential that clients seek professional help if they feel any possibility exists that they might have anorexia nervosa, since it can be fatal. Bulimia nervosa is the syndrome of secretive binge-eating episodes followed by self-induced vomiting, fasting and purging with laxatives and/or diuretics. It affects up to 10 percent of college-age students. It can lead to problems with blood electrolytes (hypokalemia, which is low potassium levels), erosion of the teeth, tears in the esophagus and digestive problems. Again, seek professional help if you think that you may be suffering from bulimia.
Although many athletes do not meet strict diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, they may exhibit similar behaviors and thought patterns, placing them at a significantly increased risk for the development of the serious endocrine, metabolic, skeletal and psychiatric disorders which are often observed in these conditions.
Source: http://www.beautyproblog.com/2013/02/exercise-and-womens-issues/
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