Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2023 Oct;284:111473. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111473. Epub 2023 Jul 3.
Energy deficiency profoundly disrupts normal endocrinology, metabolism, and physiology, resulting in an orchestrated response for energy preservation. As such, despite energy deficit is typically thought as positive for weight-loss and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases during the current obesity pandemic, in the context of contemporary sports and exercise nutrition, chronic energy deficiency is associated to negative health and athletic performance consequences. However, the evidence of energy deficit negatively affecting physical capacity and sports performance is unclear. While severe energy deficiency can negatively affect physical capacity, humans can also improve aerobic fitness and strength while facing significant energy deficit. Many athletes, also, compete at an elite and world-class level despite showing clear signs of energy deficiency. Maintenance of high physical capacity despite the suppression of energetically demanding physiological traits seems paradoxical when an evolutionary viewpoint is not considered. Humans have evolved facing intermittent periods of food scarcity in their natural habitat and are able to thrive in it. In the current perspective it is argued that when facing limited energy availability, maintenance of locomotion and physical capacity are of high priority given that they are essential for food procurement for survival in the habitat where humans evolved. When energetic resources are limited, energy may be allocated to tasks essential for survival (e.g. locomotion) while minimising energy allocation to traits that are not (e.g. growth and reproduction). The current perspective provides a model of energy allocation during energy scarcity supported by observation of physiological and metabolic responses that are congruent with this paradigm.
能量缺乏会严重扰乱正常的内分泌、代谢和生理学，从而引发一系列能量保护反应。因此，尽管在当前肥胖流行期间，能量缺乏通常被认为对减肥和治疗心血管代谢疾病有益，但在当代运动和锻炼营养的背景下，慢性能量缺乏与负面的健康和运动表现后果相关。然而，能量缺乏对身体能力和运动表现产生负面影响的证据并不明确。虽然严重的能量缺乏会对身体能力产生负面影响，但人类也可以在面临巨大能量缺乏的情况下提高有氧健身和力量。许多运动员即使表现出明显的能量缺乏，也能在精英和世界级水平上竞争。当不考虑进化观点时，尽管抑制了高能量需求的生理特征，但仍能保持高身体能力，这似乎有些矛盾。人类在其自然栖息地中面临间歇性的食物匮乏时期，并能够在其中茁壮成长。从当前的观点来看，当面临有限的能量供应时，维持运动能力和身体能力是至关重要的，因为这对于在人类进化的栖息地中获取食物以生存是必不可少的。当能量资源有限时，能量可能会被分配到维持生存所必需的任务上（例如运动），同时尽量减少对非必需特征的能量分配（例如生长和繁殖）。这种当前的观点提供了一个在能量匮乏期间进行能量分配的模型，该模型得到了与这一范式一致的生理和代谢反应的观察结果的支持。
