Speaking at Growth Asia Summit 2026 in Singapore, Teena Badshah of PepsiCo Life Sciences reported figures from Gatorade Sports Science Institute sweat and dietary intake work in female athletes: 43% began workouts already underhydrated, 50% consumed zero carbohydrate during training, and only 20% replaced sodium losses afterwards.
She attributed the carbohydrate figure not to ignorance but to fear, describing a fear of excess carbohydrate consumption that would cause weight gain and lead to a negative body image. This attribution is the speaker's interpretation, not a measured finding.
Further figures, all as reported: 47% of female athletes in low energy availability (attributed to PepsiCo research), roughly 6% of published sports science research focused on women, female endurance runners averaging around 6 g/kg/day of carbohydrate against a 6 to 10 g/kg/day guideline, body water of 55 to 60% in females cited as background, and a luteal phase oestrogen rise described as lowering the osmotic threshold for thirst.
The numbers
| Female athletes beginning workouts underhydrated, as reported | 43% |
| Consumed zero carbohydrate during training, as reported | 50% |
| Replaced sodium losses post workout, as reported | 20% |
| In low energy availability, as reported, PepsiCo research | 47% |
| Share of sports science research focused on women, as reported | about 6% |
| Carbohydrate intake in female endurance runners, as reported | around 6 g/kg/day against a 6 to 10 g/kg/day guideline |
What this does not show
- That the numbers would survive a methods section. This is a conference talk reported second hand by trade press. No sample sizes, methods, populations or sampling frames were given, so none of the figures can be checked.
- That half of female athletes need in training carbohydrate. The 50% zero carbohydrate figure is almost certainly sensitive to how training was defined. A 40 minute session does not require carbohydrate, and if short sessions sit in the denominator the figure means something quite different.
- That fear is the measured cause. Attributing under fueling primarily to fear of weight gain is an interpretation offered by the speaker. Time, appetite during exercise, GI tolerance, cost and simple habit are all plausible contributors.
- That 47% of female athletes are in low energy availability. That figure is high against the published literature, where prevalence varies enormously by sport, method and screening instrument. LEAF-Q screening estimates differ substantially from measured energy availability.
- An independent source. A sports drink company presented its own data at an industry summit. The figures should be treated as advocacy until traced to primary sources.
- That runners at 6 g/kg/day are under fueled. The 6 to 10 g/kg/day guideline range is built for high training loads. An athlete at the bottom of that range is not automatically under fueled.
Caveats worth holding
- Not peer reviewed. A conference talk reported second hand; none of the numbers can be checked against a method section because no method section is available.
- Commercially interested source: a sports drink company presenting data showing athletes underconsume carbohydrate and sodium. Not disqualifying, but a conflict that should be named whenever this is cited.
- The 50% zero carbohydrate figure is the most quotable number and also the one most likely to be misleading, since it depends on how training sessions were defined.
- The luteal phase thirst threshold point is real physiology but was presented without a citation, and its applied significance is contested.
- Low energy availability is a clinical condition; restriction and disordered eating sit directly adjacent to this topic and it should be written about with care.