This document presents a research paper on the female athlete triad among female basketball players in India. The paper defines the three components of the triad as disordered eating, menstrual dysfunction, and osteoporosis. It describes administering a screening questionnaire to 80 female basketball players and analyzing the results. The results found that most players did not exhibit high-risk behaviors or symptoms of the triad, though a few had minor issues. The paper concludes there is no prevalence of the triad among these players but recommends continued education to prevent problems in athletes.

1. A Research Paper
Presented By
Shweta Prajapati
(M.P.Ed)
Department of Physical Education
A.M.U, Aligarh

2. INTRODUCTION
 In 1997, the term FEMALE ATHLETE TRIAD was
coined by THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORT
MEDICINE (ACSM) as a spectrum of symptoms
and conditions between health and diseases.
 Female athlete triad is a condition seen in athletic
girls and women that includes Disordered Eating,
Menstrual Dysfunction, and Osteoporosis.

3. COMPONENTS OF FEMALE
ATHLETE TRIAD

4. DISORDERED EATING
 Disordered eating defined as the use of any
unhealthy method to control weight.
MENSTRUAL DYSFUNCTION
 Menstrual dysfunction is an abnormal condition in a
woman's menstrual cycle.
OSTEOPOROSIS
 Disease characterized by low bone mass and
deterioration of bones tissue, resulting in bone
fragility and increased risk of fracture.

5. METHODOLOGY
 Female athletes at risk for the Triad can be identified
via a screening questionnaire. This questionnaire has
been compiled by a working group of the Female
Athlete Triad Coalition including: Dr. Margo
Mountjoy (chair), Dr. Mark Hutchinson, Dr. Laura
Cruz, Dr. Connie Lebrun.

6. METHODOLOGY(cont...)
 Eighty (80) female basketball players (Demographic
age 17-25 years, Training age 4-10 years) were
randomly selected from North Zone Basketball
Intervarsity at Jamia Humdard, New Delhi, India.
 They gave their informed consent to serve as
subjects in the study. The questionnaire was given
and explained to the participants.

7. DATA ANALYSIS
Frequencies of the responses (yes/ no) were drawn separately and
percentage (%) was recorded accordingly. Follow table shows the
%age of Yes and No responses by the Basketball Players for the
Female Athlete Triad Questionnaire.
STATEMENT YES %age NO %age
Do you worry about your weight or body composition ? 68.75 31.25
Do you limit or carefully control the foods that you eat? 43.75 56.25
Do you try to lose weight to meet weight or image/appearance
requirements in your sport?
43.75 56.25
Does your weight affect the way you feel about yourself? 31.25 68.75
Do you worry that you have lost control over how much you
eat?
30.00 70.00
Do you make yourself vomit, use diuretics or laxatives after you
eat?
11.25 88.75
Do you currently or have you ever suffered from an eating
disorder?
20.00 80.00
Do you ever eat in secret? 36.25 63.75

8. Graph showing the Yes % : No % Ratio

9. RESULTS
 Out of 80 respondents 68.75% agree that they do not
worry about their weight or body composition and
rest of 31.25% of the respondents disagree for the
same.
 43.75% of the respondents limit or carefully control
their foods that they eat, while 56.25% of the
respondents do not think it is necessary.
 43.75% of the respondents agree that they lose
weight to meet weight or image/appearance
requirements for their sport, while 56.25% of the
subjects disagree for the same

10. RESULTS(cont...)
 31.25% of the subjects agree that their weight affects
the way they feel about themselves and rest of the
68.75% of the players disagree with it.
 30% of the respondents worry that they have lost
control over how much they eat, while as 70% of the
respondents do not worry for the same.
 Out of 80 respondents 11.25% agree that they make
themselves vomit, use diuretics or laxatives after
they eat and rest of 88.75% of the respondents
disagree for it.

11. RESULTS(cont...)
 20% of the subjects have suffered from eating
disorders and 80% of subjects have never suffered
anything like that.
 36.25% of female participants agree that they eat in
secret, while as 63.75% of them have not developed
this habit.
 Out of 80 subjects 88.75% have normal monthly
menstrual cycles and 11.25% of the subjects have
abnormal cycles.
 20% of the respondents have got stress fracture
while as 80% of them had never undergone it.

12. RESULTS(cont...)
 The average age of the first menstrual period was
found 12.87 years that is normal to the Indian
females.
 The average number of menstrual cycles in a year
was found 12 that is normal for a female to have 12
cycles in 12 months.

13. DISCUSSION
 The majority of the respondents are satisfied with
their physique, careful and limited food habit is not a
concern to them, do not indulge in weight loss and
appearance related procedures, don’t have any bad
affects on their approach by their weight, do not
have lost control over eating. Female athletes who
are concerned with controlling their body weight
and body composition are at an increased risk
for developing an eating disorder. These
athletes may increase their training regimes and
prolong dieting routines which adds to the risk
of an eating disorder (Byrne & McLean, 2001).

14. DISCUSSION(Cont…)
 They do not use diuretics or laxatives and do not
vomit after they eat, eating disorder is not a concern
for players, secret eating is not common among
female players, have normal monthly menstrual
cycles. The average age of the first menstrual period
was found normal, and the number of menstrual
cycles in a year was found normal too. According to
research, amenorrhea (menstrual dysfunction)
develops in female athletes due to effects of weight
loss, lowered body fat, increased activity, and
insufficient caloric intake (Vinci, 1999).

15. DISCUSSION(Cont…)
 They have not undergone any kind of stress
fracture. Premature bone loss may result in low bone
mineral density, increased skeletal fragility, micro
architectural deterioration, and an increased risk of
stress fractures (Beals, et al, 1999). Females in
particular are at risk for more devastating fractures
of the hip and vertebral column due to premature
osteoporosis (Hobart & Smucker, 2000). This
becomes a problem for young female athletes who
should be forming bone at this point in their lives.

16. CONCLUSION
 The female athlete triad is a complex syndrome that
impacts the physical and psychological well being of
the athlete. The triad usually begins with a
disturbance in energy balance and progresses to
other imbalances, including menstrual and
osteoporosis disturbances. The study concludes that
there is no prevalence of female athlete triad among
North Zone Basketball Players. Although a few
minor complications were present in a few players
but those were not of any great worry.

17. RECOMMENDATION
 Education and Prevention are the keys in combating
any kind of problem, so is the case with Female
Athletic Triad. Exercise is an important factor for a
healthy life. Therefore, it is necessary to help keep
the “active” safe from the dangers associated with
over-training. Education is the key to prevention,
and the message needs to be received by athletes,
trainers, coaches, administrators, and all involved in
an athlete's career.
 Studies related to such health issues among sports
persons should be conducted on large scale in future.

18. thanks