Early Sport Specialization and Intensive Training in Adolescent Female Athletes: Risks and Recommendations

Abstract

Early sport-specialization is often characterized by intensive training, and is becoming increasingly common. Adolescent female athletes, who train excessively and adopt poor diets, are at risk of the female athlete triad, overuse injury, mental health issues, and overtraining. The occurrence of one or more of these issues can lead to early-retirement from sport, and may have serious long-term health consequences. Practitioners working with young females are recommended to adopt a holistic approach to the development of their athletes, including participation in a diverse range of sports, monitoring health status, and ensuring caloric intake meets the demands of the athlete's lifestyle.

Anorexic Readiness Syndrome in Elite Female Acrobatic Gymnasts—International Study

“…They allow teens to shape both positive responses and the ability to generate appropriate coping strategies to deal with the stresses of sport and everyday life [ 62 ]. However, unrealistic expectations from a parent or a coach, pressure from the coach, relatives, or sport partners to keep low body weight, and a lack of professional counselling can lead to lowered self-esteem, mental overload, depression, anxiety, and potential burnout, worsening athletic performance [ 2 , 62 ].…”

“…As the previous study showed, the functioning of teenage female athletes in a training environment with a high-pressure in relation to weight and body composition may increase the risk of DE [ 2 ]. In our study, this relationship was confirmed by proving that the region of residence significantly increases the level of ARS.…”

“…Among the physical activities recommended for children and adolescents, a special place is given to gymnastic sports, such as women’s artistic gymnastics (WAG), men’s artistic gymnastics (MAG), rhythmic gymnastics (RG), trampoline gymnastics (TG), and acrobatic gymnastics (AG). These are the sports of early specialization (attractive especially for girls) in which children undergo comprehensive and intense sports training [ 2 , 3 ]. Scientific studies have shown that the skills and competences acquired during gymnastic training and competitions have a positive effect on the physical [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], mental [ 11 ], social [ 1 ], and cognitive [ 12 , 13 ] development of a child.…”

“…A high risk of developing an ED also increases the likelihood of developing psychological problems, including low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Athletes with an ED are also 5% more likely to attempt suicide than those without an ED [ 2 ].…”

The Associations of Body Image Perception with Serum Resistin Levels in Highly Trained Adolescent Estonian Rhythmic Gymnasts

“…Mental problems are not rare in elite athletes, with anxiety and depression being the most common disorders [ 1 ]. In comparison to other athletes, rhythmic gymnasts (RGs) are more likely to be dissatisfied and concerned with their body mass and shape [ 2 ] as visual appearance is very important in this field. Body image perception (BIP) has been associated with obesity either as a cause or as a result that affects body mass control behaviours [ 3 ].…”