Nolte Jana, Kirmse Marius, de Marées Markus, Platen Petra
Department of Sports Medicine and Sports Nutrition, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany.
Nutrients. 2025 Jan 14;17(2):278. doi: 10.3390/nu17020278.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Low energy availability (LEA) can cause impaired reproductive function, bone health issues, and suppressed immune function, and may result in decreased performance and overall health status. The purpose of this study was to investigate adaptions of body composition, blood status, resting metabolic rate, and endurance performance to gain more comprehensive insights into the symptoms of LEA and the adaptive effects in the athlete population (active women (n = 11) and men (n = 11)).
Three treatments were defined as 45 (EA45, control), 30 (EA30), and 10 (EA10) kcal/kg FFM/day and randomly assigned. Pre- and post-intervention measurements were performed through blood sampling, bioelectrical impedance analysis, resting metabolic rate measurement, the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and the incremental endurance test to exhaustion.
There was a significant reduction in body weight and fat mass in EA10 compared to EA45 ( ≤ 0.05). Blood serum levels were altered in triglyceride, uric acid, and creatinine concentrations in EA10 compared to EA45 ( ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, blood glucose was still accumulated after 120 min during OGTT in EA10 compared to EA45 ( ≤ 0.05). The respiratory exchange ratio was reduced during submaximal stages of the incremental treadmill test to exhaustion without influencing performance output after treatment EA10 ( ≤ 0.05). However, the resting metabolic rate did not change ( > 0.05).
In conclusion, this short-term study indicates that energy restriction can lead to several metabolic-related adaptations, which suggests that the availability and regulation of glucose and fats are significantly influenced after only five days of LEA in physically active women and men. Future research should focus on longer exposures of LEA and sex-specific comparisons (including the menstrual cycle) on LEA symptoms.
背景/目的：低能量可利用性（LEA）会导致生殖功能受损、骨骼健康问题以及免疫功能抑制，并可能导致运动表现和整体健康状况下降。本研究旨在调查身体成分、血液状况、静息代谢率和耐力表现的适应性，以更全面地了解LEA症状以及运动员群体（11名活跃女性和11名男性）中的适应性影响。
三种处理分别定义为45（EA45，对照）、30（EA30）和10（EA10）千卡/千克去脂体重/天，并随机分配。干预前后通过血液采样、生物电阻抗分析、静息代谢率测量、口服葡萄糖耐量试验（OGTT）和递增耐力试验至疲劳进行测量。
与EA45相比，EA10的体重和脂肪量显著降低（≤0.05）。与EA45相比，EA10的血清甘油三酯、尿酸和肌酐浓度发生改变（≤0.05）。此外，与EA45相比，EA10在OGTT 120分钟后血糖仍有累积（≤0.05）。在递增跑步机试验至疲劳的次最大阶段，呼吸交换率降低，而在EA10处理后不影响运动表现输出（≤0.05）。然而，静息代谢率没有变化（>0.05）。
总之，这项短期研究表明能量限制可导致几种与代谢相关的适应性变化，这表明在身体活跃的女性和男性中，仅5天的LEA后，葡萄糖和脂肪的可利用性和调节就受到显著影响。未来的研究应关注LEA的更长时间暴露以及LEA症状的性别特异性比较（包括月经周期）。
