Relationship between energy availability, energy conservation and cognitive restraint with performance measures in male endurance athletes

Abstract

Background Low energy availability in male athletes has gained a lot of attention in recent years, but direct evidence of its effects on health and performance is lacking. The aim of this research was to objectively measure energy availability (EA) in healthy male endurance athletes without pre-existing relative energy deficiency signs during pre-race season. Methods Twelve trained endurance athletes (performance level 3, 4, and 5) participated in the cross-sectional controlled laboratory study. Fat-free mass, exercise energy expenditure, and energy intake were measured to calculate EA. Resting energy expenditure was measured and estimated to assess energy conservation. Three specific performance tests were used to assess endurance, agility, and explosive strength performance. For psychological evaluation, the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire and a short Well-being questionnaire were completed. Results Mean EA was 29.5 kcal/kg FFM/day. The majority (66.6%) had EA under the threshold for low EA in females. Critical cognitive restraint (≥13) was reported by 75% of participants. There were no differences in performance, blood values, or psychological evaluation when subjects were divided into two groups divided by EA = 30 kcal/kg FFM/day. Cognitive restraint was negatively associated with measured resting energy expenditure and energy conservation (r = −.578, p = .025 and r = −.549, p = .032, respectively). Conclusions The mean EA measured in this study supports the theory that the threshold for low EA in endurance male athletes might be under the threshold for females. In addition, we confirmed cognitive restraint could be useful for early detection of energy conservation. The high cognitive restraint as measured in our sample stressed the need of eating behavior screening in endurance athletes in order to reduce risk of any disordered eating patterns.

Inducing low energy availability in trained endurance male athletes results in poorer explosive power

“…We aimed to reduce EA in trained, welltrained, and elite male endurance athletes by 25% and observe any health, performance and well-being effects. EA was measured with detailed methodology first over a 7-day long period (Jurov et al 2021a). The main goal of this study was to reduce EA in each individual by 25% by maintaining identical dietary regime (the same EI).…”

“…The EEE to ensure reduced EA was calculated and athletes had to train more under specific conditions to achieve the reduced EA values over 14 days. Finally, health, performance, and well-being measures were compared to values in each athlete under normal living conditions previously published (Jurov et al 2021a) (Fig. 1).…”

“…First, athletes were assessed under normal living conditions (Jurov et al 2021a) to monitor their baseline values and confirm inclusion criteria. In addition, energy intake (EI) and EEE were measured for seven consecutive days.…”

A Proposal for a Standardized Approach to Inducing Low Energy Availability in Athletes

“…The first protocol, the high-EEE protocol, is set in a way of increasing EEE without any changes in EI and FFM (Figure 1). A subject is measured during the baseline period of 7 days to determine real-life EEE, EI and current FFM as described in the methods for measuring EA [17]. Subject's baseline EA value is calculated.…”

“…This is why it seems that the whole micro cycle in training periodization, i.e., the whole week (7 days), should be included in measurements when assessing EA [13]. This has been done in some papers that included measuring EA with dietary logs [10,17,[21][22][23], but also shorter durations of 5 days [24,25], 4 days [26] and 3 days [7,27,28] have been used. This could be one of the reasons for inconsistent results.…”