The LEAF questionnaire is a good screening tool for the identification of the Female Athlete Triad/Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport among young football players

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2021-09, Vol.9, p.e12118-e12118, Article e12118
• Main Authors: Łuszczki, Edyta, Jagielski, Pawel, Bartosiewicz, Anna, Kuchciak, Maciej, Dereń, Katarzyna, Stolarczyk, Artur, Pakosz, Paweł, Oleksy, Lukasz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amenorrhea; Athletes; Body composition; Bone composition; Bone density; Bone mineral density; Bones; Children & youth; Consent; Density; Energy; Energy expenditure; Energy intake; Epidemiology; Female athlete triad; Female athletes; Females; Football; Football players; Fractures; Leaves; Medical tests; Menstruation; Metabolism; Nutrition; Obesity; Pediatrics; Physiological aspects; Public Health; Questionnaires; Relative energy deficiency in sport; Resting energy expenditure; Risk factors; Risk groups; Statistical analysis; Surveys; Teenagers; Weight control; Women’s Health; Youth
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12118

It has been noticed that Female Athlete Triad (Fat) and Relative Energy Deficiency (Red-S) in Sport are characterized by the symptoms of impaired endocrine-metabolic function and bone health in female athletes. In addition, it may be evaluated with a qualitative tool, such as Low Energy Availability in Females questionnaire (LEAF-Q) and quantitative measurements: bone mineral density (BMD), resting energy expenditure (REE), body composition, 24-hour dietary recall. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of Triad and Red-S using the LEAF-Q in youth female football players. Additionally, the difference in the BMD, body composition, REE and energy intake (EI) were assessed between the Triad/Red-S risk and not at-risk groups. Almost two thirds (64.7%) of participants are classified as being at-risk for the triad according to their LEAF-Q scores. There were no statistically significant differences ( > 0.05) between most of the values among children from the analyzed groups. There was a statistically significant difference ( < 0.001) between the EI values among girls from the two analyzed groups: at-risk (1,773.18 kcal ±  232.57) and not at-risk (2,054.00 kcal ±  191.39). Girls who did not meet the energy intake recommendations were 10.00 as likely to be in the Triad/Red-S risk group. Early identification of Fat/Red-S symptoms by screening tools such as the LEAF questionnaire is important in protecting young athletes from long-term damage due to the progression of the risk factors associated with the Fat/Red-S.