Introduction
As increasing numbers of women participate
in sport and exercise, recommendations for
their dietary intake to enhance general health
and performance become important. Unfortu-
nately, physical and metabolic differences
between men and women generally have
not been considered in the development of
current dietary guidelines, except for calcium
and iron. However, gender differences exist
that could potentially affect a woman’s energy
and nutrient needs: upper body muscle mass
and strength (Miller et al. 1993), endurance
capacity in isometric and dynamic exercise at
relatively low intensities (Maughan et al.
1986), resting metabolic rate (Arciero et al.1993)
and heart rate measured during different
exercise modalities (Kravitz et al.1997). Rather
than deriving recommendations from research
involving mixed-gender or female populations,
dietary guidelines for protein (Lemon 1995)
and carbohydrate (CHO) (Williams 1989) in-
takes have been developed from studies us-
ing male subjects. In consideration of dietary
guidelines for the female athlete, this chapter
will address limitations of the use of current
recommendations for athletes, present evidence
for gender differences related to lipid and sub-
strate metabolism and provide discussion
regarding macro- and micronutrient recommen-
dations. A brief clarification of terms used to
define nutrient needs and recommendations
for intake to meet these needs in populations
and in individuals will precede these topics of
discussion.Clarification of dietary
guideline nomenclature
Terms that reflect estimates of nutrient require-
ments vary among countries. In the United
Kingdom, nomenclature consists of dietary refer-
ence values(DRV), estimated average requirement
(EAR),lower reference nutrient intake(LRNI) and
reference nutrient intake(RNI) (Department of
Health 1991). The term recommended dietary
allowance (RDA) (National Research Council
1989) has traditionally been used in the United
States, but is expected to change in the next
edition of guidelines to terminology similar to
that currently used in the UK. In Canada, recom-
mended intakes of energy and certain nutrients
are called recommended nutrient intakes(RNI)
(Health and Welfare Canada 1983). To simplify
reading, dietary guidelinewill be used in this
chapter when referring to RNI, RDA or terms
used by other countries.Limitations of the use of current
dietary guidelines for athletes
Dietary guidelines used in the US are expressed
as quantities of a nutrient for a reference individ-
ualper day, a term that should be interpreted as
an average intake over time (National Research
Council 1989). For dietary assessments of ath-
letes, food intake should be recorded for a