levels may be excessive for the female; however,
Lemon (1995) suggests that any adverse effect of
excessive protein intake is minimal for individu-
als with normal kidney function.
Concern regarding protein intake for the
female athlete stems from whether or not the
individual consumes a low-energy intake or a
strict vegetarian diet. Negative nitrogen balance
can result in situations when energy intake is
insufficient or consumed protein is of lesser
biological quality. In these situations, heightened
attention to the protein quality and adequate
energy levels is warranted in the dietary
assessment.
Fat
Dietary fat guidelines promoted by different
countries and agencies (James et al.1988; Com-
mittee on Diet and Health 1989) vary from 20 to
35 E%. Developed for the general public, these
levels stem from research that associates high fat
intake with a variety of chronic diseases. Some
have proposed the use of high-fat diets or fat
loading to improve endurance capability of
athletes. In their review of studies testing the
fat-loading hypothesis, Sherman and Leenders
(1995) concluded that the use of high-fat diets to
improve endurance is not supported by a suffi-
cient number of valid, credible and replicated
studies. See Chapter 14 for more support of this
conclusion.
Concern for a lower weight and percentage of
body fat, as indicated by a score on the Eating
Attitudes Test, motivates amenorrhoeic female
athletes to consume less fat (11 E%) than eumen-
orrhoeic athletes (17 E%) (Perry et al.1996), while
other female athletes could benefit from coun-
selling to reduce fat content in their diets (Steen et
al.1995). Consideration for the female athlete’s
weight history, appropriate goals for body
composition and weight, current eating habits
and serum lipid chemistries, family history of
disease, and factors that influence energy and fat
intake is important in the development of appro-
priate recommendations for fat intake. For the
sport nutritionist, a thorough dietary and health
422 special considerations
assessment will provide the best basis for any
recommendation that can be made for fat intake
by female athletes.Vitamins
It is generally supported that vitamin supple-
mentation is not needed for those athletes
consuming a variety of foods and that vitamin
supplementation in athletes with an adequate
vitamin status has no effect on performance (van
der Beek 1991). For further discussion of vita-
mins, see Chapters 20 and 21. For the female
athlete, research on vitamin B 6 and the antioxi-
dant vitamins requires further discussion in this
chapter.Vitamin B 6
Energy metabolism during exercise relies on
several biological functions of vitamin B 6. The six
biologically active forms of vitamin B 6 may func-
tion as a cofactor for enzymes used in metabolic
transformation of amino acids, in gluconeogene-
sis and glycogenolysis. Other functions related to
exercise include serotonin formation and synthe-
sis of haemoglobin and carnitine. With the pos-
sibility of an increased need for this vitamin in
young women, it may be beneficial to consider
vitamin B 6 intake of the female athlete.
Female athletes tend to report vitamin B 6
intakes that are less than two thirds of the dietary
guideline. However, it is important to note
the possible influences of underreporting, low
energy intakes or inadequate vitamin B 6 data in
dietary computer software programs as possible
contributors to the reported lower than expected
intakes of vitamin B 6.
Manore (1994) summarized post-1985 studies
reporting average dietary intakes of vitamin
B 6 for female athletes. With the majority of
researchers using a 3-day record to record
intakes, 10–60% of the subjects reported con-
sumption of less than two thirds of the dietary
guideline for vitamin B 6. However, levels of the
vitamin expressed as milligrams of vitamin B 6
per gram of protein were not below the currently