Journal
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM
Volume 99, Issue 11, Pages 4037-4050Publisher
ENDOCRINE SOC
DOI: 10.1210/jc.2013-3030
Keywords
-
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Context: Puberty is a crucial period of dramatic hormonal changes, accelerated growth, attainment of reproductive capacity, and acquisition of peak bone mass. Participation in recreational physical activity is widely acknowledged to provide significant health benefits in this period. Conversely, intense training imposes several constraints, such as training stress and maintenance of very low body fat to maximize performance. Adolescent female athletes are therefore at risk of overtraining and/or poor dietary intake, which may have several consequences for endocrine function. The adaptive changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal, -adrenal, and somatotropic axes and the secretory role of the adipose tissue are reviewed, as are their effects on growth, menstrual cycles, and bone mass acquisition. Design: Asystematic search on Medline between 1990 and 2013 was conducted using the following terms: intense training, physical activity, or exercise combined with hormone, endocrine, and girls, women, or elite female athletes. All articles reporting on the endocrine changes related to intense training and their potential implications for growth, menstrual cycles, and bone mass acquisition were considered. Results and Conclusion: Young female athletes present a high prevalence of menstrual disorders, including delayed menarche, oligomenorrhea, and amenorrhea, characterized by a high degree of variability according to the type of sport. Exercise-related reproductive dysfunction may have consequences for growth velocity and peak bone mass acquisition. Recent findings highlight the endocrine role of adipose tissue and energy balance in the regulation of homeostasis and reproductive function. A better understanding of the mechanisms whereby intense training affects the endocrine system may orient research to develop innovative strategies (ie, based on nutritional or pharmacological approaches and individualized modalities of training and competition) to improve the medical care of these adolescents and protect their reproductive function.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available