As more and more females have taken up recreational and competitive running then there has been an increase in the incidence of running-related injuries. It is believed that the injuries may result from an interaction of the physiology of females with risk factors such as increase in training distance and/or intensity. Although the intake of calcium has been studied then the contribution of nutrition has previously not been that well studied.
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The researchers entered the studied with a view of assessing the effect of negative energy balance in female runners. Other researchers have hypothesised that a negative energy balance may lead to hormone abnormalities which may affect the function of the reproductive system whilst other claim that it is an adaptive response to reduced energy supply that interferes with the physiological processes of the body.
The study by Gerlach et al monitored the diets and injury incidence over one year of 86 female runners who were running a minimum of 20 miles a week. About a half of the runner suffered an injury during the period of the study. For the purposes of this study an injury was defined as any musculoskeletal injury to the lower back or legs of an overuse nature that occurred as because of running which resulted in a reduction in the amount or intensity of running.
They found that the less fat the runner was consuming then the more likely they were to get injured. They found that the injured runners had significantly reduced intakes of fat (averaging 63g per day compared with 80g per day for the uninjured runners). In addition the injured runners had a lower dietary energy contribution from fat (27% compared with the 30% of the uninjured runners). . Of all the dietary elements they studied, fat intake levels correlated with 64% of future injuries. They suggest that it may be that a low fat diet means that the athlete is not getting sufficient vitamin A or K which are fat soluble.
In this study, lower energy intake and lower energy availability did not quite achieve statistical significance with overuse injuries.
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Fat intake and injury in female runners
Kristen E Gerlach, Harold W Burton, Joan M Dorn, John J Leddy and Peter J Horvath. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008, 5:1
Any information, advice, recommendations, statements or otherwise contained herein, or in any other communication whether oral or in writing, is not intended to replace or to be a substitute for medical advice trained by a trained physician or healthcare practitioner.
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