23/03/2026
I saw a young athlete in clinic last week who I haven’t seen in nearly a year and I was surprised when I said how small her frame was, she’d don’t that thing that young people do and got taller, but she’s not filled out. I was more surprised when she told me she’d spoken to her doctor about RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports) and they hadn’t heard of it.
It’s important that we raise awareness of RED-S, its essential for your future bone health that if your output is high due to sports then your intake is matching it and you aren’t under fuelling. It’s important for how you get on with your life out of sport, your ability to recover, injury prevention and ultimately long term performance.
Dealing with RED-S needs a multidisciplinary approach. Your period is a sign of health. If you’ve had your period and it’s stopped for longer than 6 months, or if you’ve not started your period by the time you are 15 call your GP. If you aren’t sure where to start speak to a dietitian or sports nutritionist to get some guidance - nutrition is everything.
Like I said to my patient - if you’re driving a Ferrari treat it like a Ferrari, don’t treat it like my old ford focus and expect it to perform like a Ferrari.
