Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

Date of Award

Summer 7-1-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Allied Health, Health Care Administration (MSAH)

First Committee Member

Ally Smith

Advisor

Ally Smith

Second Committee Member

Joan Rocks

Third Committee Member

Rob Braun

Keywords

Low Energy Availability, LEA, LEAF-Q, RED-S, Nutrition Education, Division III athletes

Subject Categories

Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition | Higher Education | Sports Sciences

Abstract

Context: Low Energy availability (LEA) is widely acknowledged as a state in which an individual does not have sufficient energy to support normal functions within the body after energy has been expended through exercise. In sports environments, athletes can exhibit LEA for a variety of reasons. These reasons range from improper food intake to effectively fuel and re-fuel their body for the energy demands of their specific sport, to eating disorders (ED) and eating disorder behaviors. Access to appropriate nutrition knowledge is also a major factor that can place athletes at risk for developing LEA. Both males and females are at risk of developing LEA, but there are currently no validated methods to screen for LEA in male athletes. Persistent LEA can cause various health problems and can lead to underperformance. Objective: Utilizing a validated questionnaire, the low energy availability for females questionnaire (LEAF-Q), this study aims to identify the prevalence of LEA among Division III female athletes at Otterbein University. The study also aims to identify if there is a relationship between use of a nutrition education resource (ZoneIN) and LEA risk level among participants. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Division III female athletes at Otterbein University. Procedure: Online survey (LEAF-Q) sent out via snowball sampling at three time points (pre-season, mid-season, post-season). Results: 23.4% of participants were at-risk of developing LEA. Among the participants who answered all three time points (n=4), pre-season, mid-season and post-season the percentage of at-risk individuals was 75%, 0%, and 25%, respectively. 75% of participants experienced an injury during their season (n=48). 17.2% of participants were at-risk of LEA and developed an injury during their season (n=11). 50% of participants (n=32) utilized the ZoneIN nutrition app at least one time during the season. 75% of individuals who did use the app were not at-risk of developing LEA. Conclusions: Overall prevalence was lower than that in previous literature. The prevalence differed between teams, and at different time points throughout the season. Most athletes were injured at at least one point in their season, revealing a need for future research to identify injury rates among division III athletes to compare to that among divison I and II athletes. There was no significant evidence to prove that use of ZoneIN was correlated to reduced risk of developing LEA, but future research focused on nutrition awareness among athletes is promising to reduce LEA based on the findings of this study.

Licensing Permission

Copyright, all rights reserved. Fair Use

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Acknowledgement 2

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