Energy Availability in Male and Female Elite Wheelchair Athletes Over Seven Consecutive Training Days

Energy Availability in Wheelchair Athletes

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04254900

Enrollment

Registered

2020-02-05

Start date

2019-01-01

Completion date

2020-03-01

Last updated

2020-03-31

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Energy Supply; Deficiency

Brief summary

Low energy availability (LEA) is a major problem in sports as athletes ingest often a lower amount of energy compared to their actual needs. The availability of energy is calculated based on their daily energy intake and the energy cost of the daily training sessions in relation to their fat-free mass. Based on this calculation, it is known how much energy will available for the body (beside the fuel for training) to keep it in optimal physiological functioning. It has been shown, that LEA occurs very often in female athletes, in endurance athletes as well as athletes in weight-sensitive sports (i.e. jockeys, combat sports, gymnastics, ballet). The purpose of this study was to investigate, whether LEA is a problem in wheelchair athletes as well.

Detailed description

Energy availability will be assessed over 7 consecutive training days using a dietary and training record as well as the Leisure Time PHysical Activity Questionnaire for spinal cord injury. Resting Energy expenditure will be measured as well as body composition (by a DXA) before the start of data collection.

Interventions

OTHERevaluating energy availability

energy availability will be determined by measuring energy intake, exercise energy expenditure and fat-free mass and using the following formula: energy availability = (energy intake - exercise energy expenditure) / fat-free mass

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* athletes from a national team in wheelchair sports

Exclusion criteria

* unable to follow normal training routine * unable to record diet or training

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
energy availability	7 consecutive days during pre-season	energy availability = (energy intake - exercise energy expenditure) / fat-free mass. Energy intake and exercise energy expenditure are measured using a food and training diary. The fat-free mass will be measured using a DXA scan.

Countries

Switzerland

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026