Project FAR: A Nutrition Education Intervention
A nutrition education intervention to promote adequate nourishment, health, and performance in female adolescent runners
Michelle Barrack, PhD, RDN, CSSD, FACSM, Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics in the Department of Family and Consumer Science, has worked and conducted research with female adolescent and collegiate runners for the past 20 years. She has published some of the largest studies to date evaluating the prevalence of low bone density and related risk factors for low bone mineral density (BMD) and bone stress injury (BSI) among these athlete populations. More recently, Dr. Barrack has worked on nutrition education interventions aiming to optimize energy availability and intake of bone-building nutrients in runners to optimize bone health and reduce the incidence of BSI.
Currently, Dr. Barrack is conducting a study, Project FAR (female adolescent runner), in collaboration with Co-PI, Dr. Kelly Pritchett, Professor in Nutrition and Exercise Science at Central Washington University, to evaluate the effect of a nutrition education intervention to increase energy availability, energetic status, bone health and performance among a sample of elite female adolescent endurance runners. The study is funded by a Áù¾ÅÉ«Ìà Mini Grant and by the American Sports and Performance Dietitians Association (ASPDA) Research Award and includes baseline and follow-up evaluations to evaluate energy intake, exercise energy expenditure, body composition, bone mineral density and additional factors related to eating attitudes and behaviors.
"While female adolescent participation in sport yields numerous favorable outcomes including improvements in health and fitness and enhanced confidence, self-efficacy and academic performance, some sports are associated with increased risk of injury and potential consequences to bone health," noted Dr. Barrack. "Competitive endurance runners, and specifically, female adolescent and collegiate runners, exhibit an elevated prevalence of low BMD and bone stress injury (BSI) which can limit training, performance and, potentially, affect lifetime bone health. This contrasts with participation in most other weight-bearing sports, with participation associated with higher bone density and improved bone health."
Dr. Barrack explains that the lower bone mineral density observed in endurance runners is, in part, related to the high level of energy expenditure and subsequent risk of developing a sustained energy deficit, which can affect hormone involved in growth, reproduction, metabolism and bone health, as described by the Female Athlete Triad and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). Effects of prolonged energy deficiency may exert a more significant impact to adolescent runners, during the second decade of life, given that they are in a critical period of bone formation, during which approximately 50% of adult bone mineral content is accrued.
A unique aspect of the project includes the use of high-quality, gold-standard assessments of energy intake and expenditure using doubly labeled water. The study also includes the valid assessment of bone mineral density and body composition using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Athletes are using OURA Rings to track their physical activity and additional health-related biomarkers. The study also includes a web-based nutrition education intervention addressing sports-specific nutrition for runners and individualized nutrition meetings with a sports dietitian. The sports dietitian team includes additional collaborators, including Maddie Alm, MS, RDN, a dietitian specializing in nutrition for adolescent runners and former professional and NCAA D1 All-American collegiate endurance runner.
All laboratory appointments and DXA scans for the project have been conducted in the CHHS Biophysiology Lab by the Laboratory Technician, Connor Person. Use of the DXA and Biophysiology Lab have been instrumental to completing the protocols for the project. The project is currently in process with follow-up assessments scheduled for May 2025.
