Burning a large number of calories with each training session and competition, athletes, especially endurance athletes, are at risk of a deficiency or low energy availability, or LEA.
LEA can be a relative lack of energy in sports, known as RED-S, where malnourished athletes often suffer injuries. A symptom for female athletes may be impaired menstrual function.
A standout track star at Park City High and later Yale University, Sierra Darling dedicated her AP Statistics and Research capstone project to learning more and educating others about malnutrition in women’s sports and its consequences. On Thursday night in the lecture hall Darling held an expert panel discussion on the subject.
About 50 female athletes, parents and others sat for about an hour to hear from Darling and her experts, which included the former University of Utah Director of Football Nutrition Tyler Roof, US Ski and Snowboard Head of Humanities and Sports Studies Primary Doctor Dr. Carrie Jaworski, University of Utah Health and Shriners Hospitals for Children perioperative services lead Dr. Jen Wagner, former university Do 1 and cross country 2 Nik Wagner, former University and cross country 2 Utahki. 2018 Winter Olympics Liz Stephen.
“It affects how you perform and how your body functions,” Darling said of malnutrition in sports. “Sometimes the signs are there, but they’re misunderstood. … That’s why this incident exists.”
Darling continued, “Today is about sharing real information, busting harmful myths and giving you all the tools to act as your strongest and most energetic self.”
Darling broke his presentation into sections on nutrition, exercise and recovery and personal anecdotes from Dotter and Stephen. She carefully paused after each section to allow her panel to field questions from the audience and fielded data via pre- and post-discussion surveys.
The outstanding advice from the panel was for athletes and parents to be mindful of athlete nutrition and not put pressure on themselves. They discuss how many athletes don’t get enough food. Teteup said some of his biggest orders for the Utes football team were fruit snacks and Rice Krispy Treats, which are completely fine for athletes to eat. Stephen reiterated that it’s okay if you don’t perform 100% every day – no one does, he says, not even him or the other Olympians.
“You’ll never be perfect,” Stephen said. “It’s actually like a gift if you think about it that way because you can show and give whatever you have that day as much as possible. …
Stephen continued, “That’s what makes people progress in any sport, and wherever your progression ends up, whether it’s the Olympics or through high school, it’s great. That’s how it’s supposed to be; it’s supposed to be a dream that comes from inside you.”
Additional pieces of wisdom from the panel were to work towards finding a nutrition plan that works for them; just because eating a granola bar before a game works for one athlete does not necessarily mean it will work for everyone. They suggest calorie intake can be an effective piece of the nutrition puzzle for many athletes, even though it eliminates the need for athletes to train or compete on an empty or near-empty stomach. The panel said that with proper habit formation, athletes can and should become accustomed to training while properly fueled and full.
Darling will return to the Miners’ track team, where he has been part of five relay teams that have won two meets this spring. The track team is one of nine spring sports teams at Park City High, and has one of four girls’ spring sports teams.
“I can’t put into words how proud I am,” said track and field head coach Dave Yocum. “The growth he’s shown as a person in the last four years is just incredible.”
Yocum continued, “He solved a very difficult problem for people, and I thought they did a really good job.… When we finished, I think I said to Steve Cuttita, ‘I hope we have it videotaped and they can show it as a presentation.'”
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