Description
More female athletes are participating in sports today than ever before, yet they remain underrepresented in sport and exercise science (SES) research. According to a 2021 review, 34% of SES research participants are females and just 6% of studies used female-only designs. Female athletes are also at an increased risk for low energy availability (LEA), or a mismatch between energy intake and exercise energy expenditure. However, the representation of women in research related to LEA remains unclear. PURPOSE: This study aimed to (a) evaluate the representation of girls, women, and female athletes in LEA research, and (b) explore methodological characteristics underpinning LEA research. METHODS: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, peer-reviewed LEA research articles published between 2014 and 2024 were identified using PubMed, CENTRAL, and ProQuest. The number of total participants (male/female), title, topic/focus, and methodological characteristics were recorded for each publication. ANOVA, independent t-tests, and Chi-square were used to compare sex counts across studies, sex-specific studies, and proportions of study population based on methodological characteristics, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 296 LEA publications including 34,833 participants were reviewed. There was a significant difference between the total number of female participants (n=28,738; 82.5%) and male participants (n=6,080; 17.5%) (F(26,935,090,106)=97.426, p< 0.001). Overall, 56% of studies included females-only, 22% included males-only, and 22% included both sexes, demonstrating a female bias (t(229)=2.20, p< 0.001, d=0.32). A significant association was found between sex-specific health topics and sex of the study population (χ (2,296)=58.61, p< 0.001), with 91.5% of female-only studies including female-specific topics. The majority of lead and senior authors of LEA publications were female (69% lead, 55% senior), followed by male (28% lead, 43% senior), and unidentified author sex (3% lead, 2% senior), contributing to a significant different between the sex of the lead author and study population (χ (4,296)=12.36, p=0.02). CONCLUSION: Findings from this review demonstrate that females make up a majority of participants in LEA research, which is in contrast to the general representation of females within the broader scope of SES research. Future efforts should be made to ensure an equal understanding of both sexes in LEA research.
Publisher
Providence College
Date
Spring 4-22-2026
Start Date
4-22-2026 11:00 AM
Type
Poster
Format
Text
.pdf (text under image)
Language
English
