Seventy four per cent of the survey group agreed that they had “felt as though they did not look like an athlete”, 50 per cent said they had consciously restricted their food intake in order to improve their performance, while 52 per cent said they did so in order “to fit in or look the part in their sport”. The report also looked at athlete body image. I thought it was just part of being an athlete.” I had every RED-S symptom, but because none of them were ‘that bad’, my doctors and coach just let me carry on. One athlete who completed the survey said: “My GP told me it was normal to miss my period.

The report found less than 50 per cent of respondents had heard of RED-S before taking the survey. RED-S can lead to irreparable damage, impairing almost every system in the body if left untreated. We’re here to help push for change across all levels of sport.” Historically, it has been misunderstood, undiagnosed and untreated. Woolven said: “RED-S carries widespread and often life-changing health and performance consequences to athletes of any age, gender, ability or activity. She was finally diagnosed with RED-S in 2017 and retired in 2021. Woolven struggled with fatigue, injuries and low moods during her career but was consistently given the all-clear by medics to continue competing. Pippa Woolven is a former track and field athlete and co-founder of Project RED-S, who helped to develop the Female Athlete Health Report.

It is a condition which can affect elite and non-elite athletes, and is characterised by low energy availability due to a calorie deficit. The absence of menstruation is also a key symptom of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The report stated this indicated GPs and other healthcare professionals “were not sufficiently informed about the potentially serious health implications of irregular/missed periods”.Ĭommon reasons for menstrual dysfunction include low energy availability, polycystic ovary syndrome, an overactive thyroid or heart disease. It also found 30 per cent of respondents had been told by a medical professional that period abnormalities were “normal” given their activity level. The Female Athlete Health Report from Project RED-S and Kyniska Advocacy focused on responses from 769 athletes in the UK assigned female sex at birth to questions concerning their menstrual cycle and body image. Thirty-six per cent of female athletes have ignored missed periods thinking it was normal or in some cases beneficial for an active person, a new survey has found.

Once by anna carey