Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Nutrients

Volume

14

Issue

9

Publisher

MDPI

School

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)

RAS ID

44345

Comments

Attwell, C., Dugan, C., McKay, A. K., Nicholas, J., Hopper, L., & Peeling, P. (2022). Dietary Iron and the Elite Dancer. Nutrients, 14(9), 1936. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091936

Abstract

Dancers are an athlete population at high risk of developing iron deficiency (ID). The aesthetic nature of the discipline means dancers potentially utilise dietary restriction to meet physique goals. In combination with high training demands, this means dancers are susceptible to problems related to low energy availability (LEA), which impacts nutrient intake. In the presence of LEA, ID is common because of a reduced mineral content within the low energy diet. Left untreated, ID becomes an issue that results in fatigue, reduced aerobic work capacity, and ultimately, iron deficient anaemia (IDA). Such progression can be detrimental to a dancer’s capacity given the physically demanding nature of training, rehearsal, and performances. Previous literature has focused on the manifestation and treatment of ID primarily in the context of endurance athletes; however, a dance-specific context addressing the interplay between dance training and performance, LEA and ID is essential for practitioners working in this space. By consolidating findings from identified studies of dancers and other relevant athlete groups, this review explores causal factors of ID and potential treatment strategies for dancers to optimise absorption from an oral iron supplementation regime to adequately support health and performance.

DOI

10.3390/nu14091936

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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