Book explores how weight loss can hurt running performance
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Female runners often correlate weight loss
with body fat reduction when attempting to manipulate body
composition and enhance performance. But, according to Carolyn
Smith, M.D., director of the student health service at Marquette
University, and co-author with Jason Karp, Ph.D., of Running for
Women (Human Kinetics, 2012), there is little evidence that
weight loss results in improved performance in already-lean
athletes. “Weight loss in relatively lean female runners is
detrimental to their health and can result in a loss of lean
body tissue and lead to worsened performance,” Smith said.
“Despite negative consequences, the desire to attain the ideal
body composition to improve performance is the primary impetus
contributing to the development of the female athlete triad in
female endurance runners.” The female athlete triad was first
identified as a serious health condition in 1992 and consisted
of athletes with disordered eating, me