Topic
Every study covered on this subject, newest first.
A meta-analysis pooled 11 cross sectional studies covering 1006 athletes, about half of them classified as having low energy availability. The classified group differed on body composition, bone density Z score and cortisol. Leptin showed no significant difference, and because every study measured everything at one moment, none of it establishes cause.
European Journal of Clinical · Han et al. · Yongin University · 19 August 2026 · PMID 42618779
Muscle biopsies from 107 women aged 19 to 70 show that the main estrogen receptor in skeletal muscle is about half as abundant in the oldest group as in the youngest, and that receptor levels track proteins governing nitric oxide and oxidative balance. Everything measured here is protein abundance. No oxidative stress outcome and no muscle function outcome was measured at all.
GeroScience · Tamariz-Ellemann et al. · University of Copenhagen · 7 August 2026 · PMID 42566157
A conference presentation citing Gatorade Sports Science Institute data reported that 50% of female athletes surveyed consumed zero carbohydrate during training, 43% started workouts already underhydrated, and only 20% replaced sodium losses afterwards. None of the figures can yet be checked against a method section.
Badshah et al. · 4 August 2026
Sixteen adults spent two separate four day blocks at the same low energy availability, once on 1.5 and once on 4.0 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram per day. The endocrine response tracked the carbohydrate, the shift in fuel use did not.
Journal of Applied Physiology · Nusser et al. · Technical University of Munich · 16 July 2026 · PMID 42461760
Among female triathletes at the 2024 IRONMAN World Championships, 6 of 23 reached the 8 to 12 g/kg carbohydrate loading guideline, with a mean intake of 6.4 g/kg. Interviews found the shortfall was not a knowledge gap.
European Journal of Sport · Fortis et al. · Liverpool John Moores University · 1 July 2026 · PMID 42274547
A narrative review examined four claims circulating on social media about female athlete nutrition. It found limited evidence behind several of them, but not for the rigid sex specific rules built on top of them.
Proceedings of the Nutrition · Matkin-Hussey et al. · 1 July 2026 · PMID 42383324
Nine well trained female cyclists were emptied of glycogen and then fed either a great deal of carbohydrate or almost none for the next day. Power at the first ventilatory threshold fell by nineteen watts, and gross cycling efficiency fell with it. The all out sprint at the end was unaffected.
European Journal of Applied · Main et al. · the Auckland University of Technology · 2 June 2026 · PMID 42228164
An earlier trial had reported that women could not supercompensate muscle glycogen at all. When carbohydrate was prescribed per kilogram of lean body mass instead of as a share of habitual energy intake, women loaded as well as men.
European Journal of Applied · James et al. · the University of Western Australia · 1 October 2001 · PMID 11718281
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