Assessing the Impact of Low Energy Availability, Eating Disorders and Menstrual Dysfunction of Women’s Kho–Kho National Team in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Low Energy Availability (LEA) (with or without disordered eating) and Menstrual Dysfunction (MD) is the special component of sports. Energy imbalance is the primary cause that could occur in highly active athletes. This study aims to identify the impacts of low energy availability and menstrual dysfunction in the Sri Lanka National Women Kho-Kho team. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was used in this study. A total of 15 national female Kho-Kho players aged 26.80 ± 5.20 years, weight 55.38 ± 9.27 kg, height 166.6 ± 4.61 cm, body fat 25.3 ± 0.29kg, and BMI 19.96 ± 3.88 voluntary participated in the study. Energy intake was measured using 3 days dietary recall, and 3 days physical activity log was used to measure the physical activity energy expenditure. Eating Disorders (ED) were assessed using EDE-Q, and menstrual dysfunction was assessed using the LEAF-Q questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS software Kruskal Wallis test. According to the results, LEA was highly prevalent among the athletes (87%). ED was highly related to the shape concern (33.3%) and weight concern (26.6%) among athletes. MD percentage of the Kho-Kho team was reported as 13.33%. Further, these athletes were reported primary amenorrhea (20%), secondary amenorrhea (6.6%), oligomenorrhea (13.3%), and menorrhagia (26.66%). Therefore, MD was prevalent among Sri Lankan Kho-Kho athletes at a level that should be paid attention especially LEA athletes. Further remedies should be taken to prevent the risk factors of LEA and MD and regular inspection should be performed on the risk factors to enhance their overall health.