Background: This is the first study to directly examine the perceptions and practices of Sports Dietitians when assessing and managing athletes at risk of low energy availability (LEA). 55 Sports Dietitians participated in an online questionnaire that captured the typical methods used to identify and manage LEA in athletic populations.
Aim: To characterise the assessment and management practices employed by Sports Dietitians when determining energy availability (EA) in athletes.
Methods: The questionnaire consisted of 27 questions which explored common methods used to identify and manage LEA, dietary methods and barriers experienced by Sports Dietitians when managing LEA.
Results: The top 3 nutrition-related priorities for respondents were nutrition strategies to support training, competition, and recovery while ‘LEA’ was ranked fifth. ‘Dietary intake’, ‘menstrual function’ and ‘training load’ were the primary methods used to assess LEA and respondents were ‘confident’ in their ability to correctly identify athletes at risk. Amongst support personnel, coaches were rarely a referral source for management of LEA but did present frequent communication difficulties. Respondents indicated athletes have concerns about undesirable changes in body composition when providing recommendations of increased energy intake for LEA management.
Conclusions: Sports Dietitians appear to recognise and prioritise management of LEA in athletes, yet typical assessment tools are limited to dietary intake and training load and collaborative approaches to athlete management appear lacking. It is unclear whether Sports Dietitians' confidence in identifying LEA is justified, but development of reliable assessments and collaborative management approaches will undoubtedly assist practitioners and improve athlete care.