Prevalence of Risk Factors of the Female Athlete Triad among Young Elite Athletes of Pakistan.
Jaweria Syed, Anam Jamil, Nazma Namroz and 4 others
PMID 35136690WHAT IT FOUND
Half of 60 elite female athletes in Pakistan showed risk for eating disorders, and 83.3% reported disordered eating behaviors.
Menstrual irregularity was less common. No athlete met criteria for all three female athlete triad components, so the full syndrome was rare in this sample.
Key findings
0150% of the 60 participants scored above the threshold for eating disorder risk on the EAT-26.
0283.3% of athletes reported at least one disordered eating behavior, with laxative abuse (65%) and binge eating (51.7%) being the most frequent.
03Only 15% reported irregular menstrual cycles, and no participant presented with risk factors for all three components of the female athlete triad simultaneously.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study did not measure energy availability, which is the central mechanism of the female athlete triad. Participants were surveyed at various times of the year (in-season vs. out-of-season), which may have influenced reported training intensity and menstrual status. The sample size was small (n=60) and recruited via convenience sampling, limiting generalizability to all elite athletes. Self-reported data on disordered eating and menstrual cycles may be subject to recall bias or underreporting.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest, and no external funding was reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high rate of disordered eating risk as evidence that the full female athlete triad is prevalent. The study found no athletes with all three components simultaneously, and energy availability was not measured.