Can you explain what REDS is?

Question

Holly Brooks · Answer

This is a great question. What is REDS? So REDS stands for Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. And it is exactly what it sounds like. It is essentially a chronic mismatch between the energy that you're taking in, the food that you're eating, and your expenditure, which is what you need for your resting metabolic rate plus the workouts that you're doing. So sometimes, this happens intentionally, meaning it can overlap with an eating disorder. But it can absolutely be unintentional as well. And there are lots of pretty serious symptoms and repercussions for REDS. And so it's people getting sick a lot. It's people getting injured a lot, a lot of bone stress injuries. It's menstrual irregularity in women or people assigned female at birth. There are actually-- it's some erectile dysfunction in people assigned male at birth. It's GI issues. It's decreased strength and ability to adapt to your training and, also, depression. And so REDS is serious. It is actually very prevalent in the athletic community. There was actually a narrative review that says that up to 58% of athletes may be underfueling. So this is a big issue, and I'm happy to answer as many questions as you want about REDS. The good news is that it is treatable and it is something that you can overcome. So please hit me up with as many questions about REDS as possible.

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"Can you explain what REDS is?"