What defines the Female Athlete Triad?

• A. Disordered eating or low energy availability, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis/low bone mineral density
• B. Overeating, rapid weight gain, high bone density
• C. Regular exercise with adequate energy
• D. Vitamin D deficiency alone

Answer: (A)

The Female Athlete Triad is a cluster of interrelated problems driven by insufficient energy availability from training, which disrupts reproductive and bone health. When energy intake doesn’t meet the demands of exercise, the body lowers reproductive signaling, leading to menstrual dysfunction such as amenorrhea. Lower estrogen from this dysfunction then contributes to impaired bone formation and increased bone loss, resulting in low bone mineral density or osteoporosis. This combination—disordered eating or low energy availability, menstrual disturbance, and weakened bones—defines the triad. It’s possible to have one or two components without the third, but the coexistence of all three signals higher risk for injuries like stress fractures, especially in athletes. The other choices describe scenarios that don’t match this pattern: overeating with high bone density, regular exercise with adequate energy, or a vitamin D deficiency alone.