Press Release – Female Athlete Triad: Double Check the Score

By Dr. Elizabeth Pilicy

Girls who play soccer, or participate in any endurance sport, may be at risk to develop a combination of three disorders now commonly referred to as the "Female Athlete Triad."

The female athlete triad is composed of the connected pattern of disordered eating, exercise-associated loss of normal cyclic menstrual periods (amenorrhea), and loss of bone mineral density or frank osteoporosis. This disorder is increasingly occurring in athletic women, particularly as more and more girls are participating in high level sports and are starting at increasingly younger ages. The inadequate nutrient supply to the body associated with disordered eating patterns is at the heart of this serious disorder.  This triad as a whole often goes unrecognized.  The consequences of lost bone mineral density can be devastating for the female athlete. Stress fractures or premature osteoporotic fractures can occur, and lost bone mineral density may never be regained.