Emergency Medicine Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Objectives: Osteoporosis, amenorrhea, and low energy with or without disordered eating (the female athlete triad) are frequent clinical outcomes associated with female athletes in constant low energy availability (LEA). The rigorous training demands of the Army and the strict Army weight limits suggest that female service members may be susceptible to states of LEA, where energy expenditure exceeds dietary energy intake. The premise of this study is to understand the prevalence of the female athlete triad in service members and to determine if adhering to the Army's weight requirements influences the prevalence of the triad's symptoms.
Design: We compared survey responses measuring symptoms of the female athlete triad between female active-duty service members and female veterans. Every participant conducted a survey that measured components of the female athlete triad, including energy availability (EA) with or without disordered eating (DE), menstrual disruptions (MD), and low bone mineral density (BMD). The survey questions were based on the verified screening tool for the female athlete triad, known as the Female Athlete Screening Tool (FAST) and the Low Energy Availability in Female Questionnaire (LEAF-Q).
Results: The results indicated that female veterans had significantly higher female athlete triad and disordered eating scores in comparison to female active duty service members. Specifically, female veterans are more likely to demonstrate symptoms of disordered eating.
Conclusions: A cultural shift within the Army may explain the reason why female veterans have a higher disordered eating score in comparison to active-duty female service members. The Army's new fitness test focuses on strength and power which could explain why active-duty female service members have a lower female athlete triad score than female veterans since the Army is now encouraging their active duty soldiers to have more muscle mass. Nevertheless, the results indicate that female veterans are a concerning population for the female athlete triad.
