Background & aims: Adequate energy availability is essential for the body to maintain its physiological functions and achieve optimal health, especially among athletes. Unfortunately, low energy availability (LEA) is common among athletes, and it has been associated with impairments in health and performance. In contrast, an energy-restricted diet has been linked to longevity, but it is unclear how LEA affects athletes' lifespans. The goal of the present study was to assess the impact of LEA thermodynamically on the lifespan of athletes.
Methods: Data from seven healthy young endurance-trained athletes (24 ± 4 years) who underwent short-term low energy availability (125 (kJ/day) per kg FFM) once with low protein content (LEA-LP; 0.8 g/kg) and with high protein content (LEA-HP; 125 (kJ/day) per kg FFM, 1.7 g/kg), as well as a control diet (CON; 230 (kJ/day) per kg FFM, 1.7 g/kg), were used in the calculations. The athletes followed each diet for five days and expended 67.5 (kJ/day) per kg FFM. entropy generation-based thermodynamic calculations were performed based on the metabolic activity of the athletes, which was determined from oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production rates.
Results: Low energy availability was successfully induced during LEA-LP (62 ± 8 (kJ/day) per kg FFM; 95%Cl: 53-70) and LEA-HP (64 ± 8 (kJ/day) per kg FFM; 95%Cl: 56-71) diets. Despite of achieving energy deficit of -6658 ± 2110 kJ/day (95%Cl: 8609-(-) 4707) (LEA-LP), -5781 ± 623 (95%Cl: 26591-(-)4707) (LEA-HP) and excessive energy of 772 ± 1915 (95%Cl: 845-2388) (CON) statistical analyses revealed no significant differences in lifespan estimations among diets (CON: 72 ± 8 years (95%Cl: 65-79), LEA-LP: 74 ± 7 years (95%Cl: 68-80), and LEA-HP: 73 ± 11 (95%Cl: 62-83)).
Conclusions: This study suggests valuable insights into the intricate relationship between energy availability, entropy generation, and lifespan among athletes. Whereas entropy generation levels and the lifespan of athletes remained stable depending on diets, the distinguished differences in energy deficiency and energy availability underline the need for a profounder investigation of underlying physiological mechanisms to improve the health and performance of athletes.
Keywords: Energy availability; Energy deficiency; Entropy generation; Lifespan estimation.
© 2024 The Authors.