Dr Nicky Keay @nickyKfitness Health4Performance is a recently developed BASEM open access educational resource This is a world premier: a resource developed for and by athletes/dancers, coaches/teachers, parents/friends and healthcare professionals to raise awareness of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) What? Optimal health is required to attain full athletic potential. Low energy availability (LEA) can compromise […]
By Dr Nicky Keay @nickyKfitness Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) is a clinical model that describes the potential adverse health and performance consequences of low energy availability (LEA) in male and female athletes. Identification of athletes at risk of LEA can potentially prevent these adverse clinical outcomes. Athletes at risk of RED-S are those involved […]
By Dr Nicky Keay @nickyKfitness The action of the sun on skin is the most effective way of making vitamin D. However, even walking around outside naked for 5 hours every day during UK winter months is not sufficient to make adequate vitamin D. Therefore, much to the relief of the audience at the recent BASEM Spring […]
Dr Nicky Keay @nickyKfitness Traditionally dance medicine has been somewhat the poor relation of sports medicine. Why is this the case? There is no doubt that dancers, of whatever genre, require the physical and psychological attributes of athletes. However, dance involves an additional artistic component where ultimately performance on stage is judged not according to a […]
What updates are presented in the IOC consensus statement on RED-S 2018? Prevention Awareness is the key to prevention, yet RED-S continues to go unrecognised. Less than 50% of clinicians, physiotherapists and coaches are reported as able to identify the components of the female athlete triad. In a survey of female exercisers in Australia, half were […]
By Dr Nicky Keay @nickyKfitness, Chair of BASEM Spring Conference 2018 Endocrine and Metabolic aspects of Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) are crucial determinants of health and human performance, from the reluctant exerciser through to the elite athlete and the professional dancer. This is what the recent BASEM spring conference set out to demonstrate. The audience […]
Dr Nicky Keay There has been much recent coverage regarding female runners suffering with health and performance issues due to relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S). What about male athletes? A recent article about male cyclists who explained how they developed RED-S, did not receive as sympathetic a response as articles concerning female athletes. Yet multiple […]
By Dr Nicky Keay Competitive cyclists are potentially at risk of suboptimal bone health. Although cyclingis excellent for cardiovascular fitness, this type of non skeletal loading exercise does not mechanically stimulate osteogenesis (bone formation). This situation of low mechanical osteogenic stimulus to build bone can be compounded by restrictive eating patterns and associated hormone dysfunction of relative energy […]
By Dr Nicky Keay @nickyKfitness Unfortunately I continue to see athletes, both male and female, whose health and athletic performance is hampered due to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S). There have been some high profile athletes who are very open about how RED-S has affected them, alerting younger athletes to potential pitfalls. Does this issue warrant highlighting? Yes! […]
By Dr Nicky Keay @nickyKfitness Focusing on changes in body weight and body mass index (BMI) alone as outcome measures of lifestyle interventions, ignores the beneficial multi-system and psychological effects of lifestyle medicine, in particular exercise. This includes advantageous changes in body composition for health and performance. Why is body composition important? Because not all weight is equal in terms of […]