Monday, May 05, 2025

Energy deficiency impacts collegiate running performance

New study from researchers in the Penn State Department of Kinesiology is first to measure how preseason energy levels can predict athlete performance

Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Collegiate female endurance runners who experience chronic energy deficiency throughout a competitive season may compromise their performance and training benefits, according to a recent study by researchers in the Penn State Department of Kinesiology.

The team published their findings, demonstrating that runners who do not consume enough calories during their preseason had slower race times than their counterparts during the season, in the European Journal of Sport Science.

“Coaches, athletes and researchers have been asking for years whether energy deficiency has a measurable impact on performance,” said co-author Nancy Williams, professor of kinesiology and physiology. “This is the first study to employ objective, laboratory-based health measurements to predict performance.”

Individuals who do not eat enough food to meet their energy needs experience energy deficiency, which may cause fatigue, increased risk of injuries and decreased athletic performance. Chronic energy deficiency occurs when an individual has a recurring, insufficient energy intake to match their caloric expenditure. For women, energy deficiency can lead to menstrual irregularities and impaired bone health, a condition known as the Female Athlete Triad.

According to prior research from Williams and Mary Jane De Souza, co-author and distinguished professor of kinesiology and physiology, participation in endurance sports like running — where leanness is considered advantageous for performance — increased the risk for developing chronic energy deficiency.

The research team held an outdoor 5K race with 21 collegiate female endurance runners in the weeks before their competitive season, known as preseason, and the weeks after their competitive season, called post-season. Three factors were assessed in the study — energy status, body composition and 5K time trial results.

The researchers found that two independent, objective measures of energy deficiency — resting metabolic rate (RMR) ratio and circulating thyroid hormone (TT3) — were predictive of running performance. RMR ratio compares actual-to-predicted resting metabolic rate and is a laboratory-validated measure of chronic energy deficiency. According to Williams, TT3 is assessed with blood tests and is considered an objective measurement for energy deficiency due to the hormone’s influence on whole body metabolism.

The endurance runners were categorized as either having sufficient or insufficient energy intake based on their preseason assessment of energy status. Those with a measured RMR less than 92% of their predicted RMR were metabolically suppressed, meaning they had insufficient energy intake; those with a measured RMR equal to or greater than 92% of their predicted RMR were non-metabolically suppressed, meaning they had sufficient energy intake.

The researchers found that female endurance runners categorized as energy insufficient in the preseason exhibited slower racing times and running velocity during the 5K time trial than runners categorized as energy sufficient in the preseason.

According to Williams, linking energy status to performance may motivate endurance runners more than linking energy status to factors like menstrual health.

“Athletes are naturally competitive and motivated by success, even if that success costs them their long-term health,” Williams said. “But maintaining proper energy status benefits their performance during the sports season and likely their long-term health.”

Energy deficiency can also be associated with a loss of training benefits — like slower injury recovery or poorer bone health — in energy insufficient runners. But Williams said hope isn’t lost for energy deficient runners.

“Energy status is reversible,” Williams said. “The nice thing about uncovering whether the body is energy deficient is that athletes can implement strategies like increasing calories to improve energy status and training benefits.”

Williams said uncovering any predictor of performance — in this case, energy status measured by RMR ratio and TT3 — is especially important for athletic coaches.

“These are measurements coaches could use if only they could access and know about them,” Williams said. “It’s hard for coaches to use laboratory-validated measures or procedures that require blood tests.”

Lead author and former collegiate coach Emily Lundstrom agreed. Lundstrom, who earned her doctorate in kinesiology from Penn State in 2024 and is currently an assistant professor of biokinesiology and physical therapy and sport scientist at the University of Southern California, said coaches must be mindful of how nutrition can support athletes’ performance and long-term health.

“As a coach, you can play a crucial role in athletes’ nutritional education by explaining how under-fueling compromises overall health, muscle recovery and training adaptations, which may lead to reduced performance across a season,” Lundstrom said. “Coaches can encourage their athletes to eat more during periods of increased training demands, refuel post-exercise with carbohydrates and protein to restore muscle glycogen and repair tissues, and promote frequent meals and snacks across the day to avoid prolonged energy deficits that may contribute to reduced metabolic function.”

Lundstrom added that frequent use of nutrition or fueling stations during training sessions can support healthy eating habits while preserving health and performance if such tools are accessible for teams.

Williams said the next step of this research is to determine whether objective RMR ratio and TT3 measurements can be simplified and put into the hands of coaches and athletes to predict — and eventually enhance — athletic performance.

Ana Carla Chierighini Salamunes, exercise physiology doctoral candidate at Penn State; and Heather C. M. Allaway, assistant professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also contributed to this research.

Journal

European Journal of Sport Science

DOI

10.1002/ejsc.12261

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Pre-Season Energy Deficiency Predicts Poorer Performance During a Competitive Season in Collegiate Female Long-Distance Runners

Consumption of ultra-processed foods by children up to one year old favors harmful bacteria in the gut

Analysis of the gut microbiota of more than 700 babies also showed that breastfeeding was a protective factor, mitigating the problem in those who consumed industrialized products. The study underscores the importance of breastfeeding

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Consumption of ultra-processed foods by children up to one year old favors harmful bacteria in the gut — image:
Participants in the MINA Study monitor a child in Cruzeiro do Sul, in the state of Acre. The group has undergone health assessments since birth, in 2015 and 2016
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Credit: Bárbara Prado/USP

A Brazilian study of 728 children up to one year of age shows that the consumption of ultra-processed foods can negatively affect the diversity and abundance of the intestinal microbiota, with a more pronounced effect in children who are not breastfed.

The results were published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, as part of the “MINA Study – Maternal-Infant in Acre: birth cohort of the Brazilian Western Amazon”, which is following a group of children born between 2015 and 2016 in Cruzeiro do Sul, in the state of Acre, Brazil, with funding from FAPESP (read more at agencia.fapesp.br/40651 and agencia.fapesp.br/37047).

Children who were still receiving breast milk had higher levels of Bifidobacterium, a genus of bacteria known to be associated with good gut health.

On the other hand, those who were not breastfed and consumed ultra-processed products, such as packaged snacks, filled cookies, chocolate drinks, soft drinks, artificial juices, ice cream, instant noodles, among others, had a higher abundance of genera such as Selimonas and Finegoldia, which are not very abundant in the group of breastfed children and are typically present in individuals with obesity or gastrointestinal diseases in adolescence and adulthood.

“We also found that breastfeeding attenuated the harmful effects of consuming ultra-processed foods on the composition of the gut microbiota. The group of children who received breast milk and did not consume ultra-processed products had a more stable microbiota and better health markers, mainly due to the greater abundance of Bifidobacterium,” says the first author of the study, Lucas Faggiani, who is doing his doctoral studies at the School of Public Health of the University of São Paulo (FSP-USP) and received FAPESP grants during his undergraduate studies (17/25232-2 and 19/00248-9).

“To date, there hasn’t been a study with so many participants that has analyzed the composition of the intestinal microbiota during the first year of life in relation to the consumption of ultra-processed products, just when the immune system is forming. Although the region is difficult to access, these products can be easily obtained and end up replacing traditional foods and even breastfeeding,” explains Marly Cardoso, professor at FSP-USP and coordinator of the project.

In addition to the sample size, Faggiani adds, the study stands out for being a population-based cohort in an Amazon region with a high level of social vulnerability, which contributes to the study of variables that are little explored in the literature on this subject.

Long term

The researchers collected samples between 2016 and 2017, when the children taking part in the cohort turned one year old. The samples were collected and stored according to a protocol developed at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (IMT) of the USP School of Medicine, coordinated by Ester Sabino, a professor at the institution. The anal swabs with the stool samples were stored at low temperatures and sent to São Paulo.

While collecting these samples and data such as the children’s weight and height, the mothers answered a questionnaire that included whether or not they were breastfeeding and the eating habits of the family and the child.

The microbiota samples were sent to a specialized company in South Korea for automated genome sequencing, which is much faster than traditional sequencing. In Brazil, with the data in hand, the researchers performed the analysis using bioinformatics tools.

In addition to the levels associated with Bifidobacterium (abundant in breastfed children and low in weaned children), Selimonas and Finegoldia (high in non-breastfed children and those consuming ultra-processed foods), the researchers also detected a higher occurrence of the Firmicutes genus in the group of children who were no longer breastfed, even in those who did not consume ultra-processed foods. The genus is a potential marker of an adult microbiota, suggesting early maturity.

Another genus found in abundance in the weaned and ultra-processed consumer group was Blautia. Although some studies have found the same association, there is still no consensus on whether it is beneficial or harmful. “There’s a lack of robust studies to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between this genus and health outcomes,” comments Faggiani.

“We’d noticed that consumption of ultra-processed products occurred in more than 80% of the children taking part in the study in the first year of life, when the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation is not to offer these products before the age of two. Given these results, we’re continuing to follow these children to monitor possible adverse health outcomes in the long term,” concludes Cardoso.

The work was also supported by FAPESP through a postdoctoral fellowship awarded to Paula de França, co-author of the article.

About FAPESP

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration.

Journal

Clinical Nutrition

DOI

10.1016/j.clnu.2025.01.030

Article Title

Effect of ultra-processed food consumption on the gut microbiota in the first year of life: Findings from the MINA–Brazil birth cohort study

Article Publication Date

Artificial oxygen supply in coastal waters: A hope with risks

Researchers warn: Technical measures are no substitute for reducing nutrients and protecting the climate

Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)

Coastal waters around the world are increasingly losing oxygen, with dramatic consequences for both ecosystems and the people who depend on them. The Baltic Sea is a well-known example: with the consequences of spreading hypoxic or anoxic zones evident in fish kills, the decline of spawning grounds and toxic blue-green algae blooms. So why not introduce oxygen into the sea where it is most urgently needed?

'Various technical approaches have already been tested, some of which have had a positive effect on lakes,' says Prof Dr Andreas Oschlies, Professor of Marine Biogeochemical Modelling at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. 'However, artificial oxygenation cannot work miracles — it only temporarily alleviates the symptoms and does not address the underlying causes.'

Together with Prof. Dr Caroline P. Slomp, Professor of Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry at Radboud University in the Netherlands, Andreas Oschlies heads the Global Ocean Oxygen Network (GONE). GO2NE is an international expert committee of the United Nations Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC UNESCO) researching the causes and consequences of declining oxygen levels in the ocean. GO2NE held its first international workshop on artificial oxygenation in autumn 2024. The results of this workshop were published last week in the scientific journal EOS.

Main causes of oxygen loss in coastal seas

Coastal seas naturally obtain oxygen through exchange with the atmosphere and through photosynthesis by phytoplankton on the surface. Deeper water layers can only obtain oxygen through exchange with surface water. Seawater loses oxygen through bacteria consuming it when decomposing organic material. These bacteria can thrive particularly well when the nutrient supply is high, which is why excessive nutrient inputs (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) from wastewater and agriculture are among the main causes of falling oxygen levels. In addition, water bodies are warming, meaning less oxygen can be dissolved in warmer water. Warm layers of water overlying cooler ones also inhibit the mixing of the water layers.

Oschlies: “There are now huge zones in the Baltic Sea where there is no oxygen at all. We call these zones anoxic, i.e. oxygen-free. They are colloquially referred to as 'dead zones'. They are not completely devoid of life, as there are bacteria that can still survive in this environment. However, these areas are absolutely hostile to all other organisms.”

Limits and risks of artificial oxygen input

Oschlies and Slomp investigated two technical approaches for supplying oxygen to bodies of water: air or pure oxygen injection (bubble diffusion), and pumping oxygen-rich surface water into deeper layers (artificial downwelling). Both methods have already been tested locally, producing partially positive results. However, as soon as the measures are discontinued, the anoxia usually returns very quickly. Slomp: “This artificial introduction of oxygen can be used successfully in lakes, shallow estuaries or small bays. However, the effect only lasts as long as the operation is maintained.” The Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore in the USA is one example of this. After decades of aerating a shallow tributary, the systems were switched off and the oxygen levels fell back to their original levels within a day.

The artificial supply of oxygen also poses ecological risks. For instance, the injection of oxygen can intensify the upward movement of gases such as methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Changes in temperature and salinity distributions, as well as underwater noise, could affect marine habitats and, in extreme cases, lead to a further decrease in oxygen levels. “These processes should only be used after thorough testing and accompanied by environmental monitoring,” emphasises Oschlies.

No substitute for climate protection and reducing nutrient inputs

The expansion of plants for the production of green hydrogen is currently a topic of debate. Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. If the electrolysers are located near the sea, the oxygen produced as a by-product could be used for oxygen enrichment measures in coastal marine regions. However, the researchers urge caution, stating that while technical interventions could be beneficial where suitable conditions prevail, they would need to be part of comprehensive water protection strategies.

Slomp‘s conclusion: “The technical possibilities for supplying oxygen do not replace the need for consistent climate protection and the reduction of nutrient inputs from agriculture and wastewater. However, under certain conditions, they can help mitigate the worst consequences of oxygen deficiency, at least temporarily.”

Journal

Eos

DOI

10.1029/2025EO250163

Method of Research

Literature review

Article Title

Could bubbling oxygen revitalize dying coastal seas?

Article Publication Date

5-May-2025

Participatory formats for remembering Nazi atrocities are effective

Participation leads to greater commitment to memory work and an open society

WZB Berlin Social Science Center

In two randomized studies with around 1,500 participants, the researchers compared the impact of active remembrance work with the mere provision of information. The study focused on the #everynamecounts project, a digital crowdsourcing project run by the Arolsen Archives in which volunteers digitize historical documents related to the persecution of Nazi victim groups. Half of the participants actively took part in this project and digitized so-called prisoner registration cards from the Buchenwald concentration camp. The other group only received information about Nazi persecution and the archived documents (study 1) or no information at all (study 2). The groups were then surveyed.

The results are clear: after the project, participants in the active group were more motivated to get involved in memory projects and, on average, were also willing to donate more to a memorial site. They also stated that they wanted to take a stand against discrimination and for human rights – their willingness to join an initiative or sign a petition against antisemitism was particularly high.

The study shows that participatory memory work strengthens people's confidence in their own ability to act – possibly the decisive difference between participatory memory work and the mere transfer of information. At the end of the project, participants from the active group were more likely to agree with statements that they could help keep the memory of Nazi crimes alive and make an important contribution to a future without hatred and exclusion.

“Our results demonstrate the potential of participatory approaches compared to traditional methods that focus on information transfer,” says study coordinator Ruth Ditlmann from the Hertie School. “Participatory approaches strengthen the belief in one's own efficacy– a key driver of civic engagement.”

Furthermore, the study shows that actively engaging with Nazi crimes can also raise awareness of other historical injustices, such as colonial crimes. Participants were subsequently more motivated to commemorate the victims of German colonialism or to support archives that document these injustices. “At least on an individual level, this contradicts the claim that memory work is a zero-sum game in which commemorating different cases of past injustice takes away from the attention given to any one of them,” says WZB researcher Berenike Firestone.

Floriane Azoulay, director of the Arolsen Archives, emphasizes: “Active and low-threshold personal involvement in digital remembrance projects is extremely important to us. The study now even demonstrates: A personal involvement in #everynamecounts creates a collective and powerful form of remembrance that was not possible before - personal and globally connected, while engaging with others.”

The study “Participating in a Digital History Project Mobilizes People for Symbolic Justice and Better Intergroup Relations Today” by Ruth Ditlmann, Berenike Firestone, and Oguzhan Turkoglu has been published in the journal Psychological Science.

You can find it here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976251331040

More information about the Arolsen Archives and the #everynamecounts project:

www.arolsen-archives.org
www.everynamescounts.arolsen-archives.org

Journal

Psychological Science

DOI

10.1177/09567976251331040

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Participating in a Digital-History Project Mobilizes People for Symbolic Justice and Better Intergroup Relations Today

Rare grasshopper thought extinct rediscovered after 40 years

Pensoft Publishers

The Monte Gordo Grasshopper (Eyprepocprifas insularis) has proved to be a rare and elusive species: its last, and, until now, only sighting was a single specimen found in 1980. This is why researcher Dr. Michel Lecoq declared it extinct in 1996.

After more than 40 years of no records, an exciting discovery happened thanks to a holiday Rob Felix took with his fellow researcher Annelies Jacobs in Cape Verde, the insect’s only known location, “to look for birds and other interesting stuff for field biologists like us”. Before going on our trip, we looked for information about this peculiar grasshopper that was thought to be extinct for a long time. We were hoping and dreaming that maybe we could find it again.

“During a night walk on our first evening on São Nicolau to a colony of a unique seabird species, the Fea, I stumbled upon a grasshopper sitting on the path. When I looked closer in the torch's light, I immediately recognised its unique appearance. I shouted out loud: it's Eyprepocprifas! To my surprise, correct at once because it's not the most easily pronounceable genus name,” he says.

In the following days, Rob and Annelies found several other specimens in Monte Gordo Natural Park and its surroundings.

Endemic to the island of São Nicolau, this grasshopper is a “living fossil,” meaning it hasn’t evolved significantly for millions of years and has few or no living relatives.

“E. insularis must have been there for a very long time and has been able to withstand the severe ecological conditions,” the researchers write in their paper, which was published in the Journal of Orthoptera Research.

This montane grasshopper has shown remarkable resilience, surviving in the challenging environment of Cape Verde’s islands and enduring periods of intense drought and strong winds that can introduce new species from the African continent.

“The rediscovery of the only endemic brachypterous (short-winged) grasshopper, Eyprepocprifas insularis, on São Nicolau, an island with a volcanic origin dating back approximately five million years, provides significant insight into the island’s ecological and evolutionary history,” the researchers write.

They say this rediscovery is a crucial first step toward the insect’s conservation: as a threatened species restricted to a small area, E. insularis might actually be closer to extinction than we think. Now that it has been found again, we have the opportunity to take steps to protect this unique species and its habitat.

Research article:

Felix R, Jacobs A, Lecoq M (2025) Rediscovery of the Monte Gordo Grasshopper Eyprepocprifas insularis: An ancient brachypterous species endemic to São Nicolau, Cape Verde (Orthoptera, Eyprepocnemidinae). Journal of Orthoptera Research 34(2): 159-168. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.34.144016

Journal

Journal of Orthoptera Research

DOI

10.3897/jor.34.144016

Article Title

Rediscovery of the Monte Gordo Grasshopper Eyprepocprifas insularis: An ancient brachypterous species endemic to São Nicolau, Cape Verde (Orthoptera, Eyprepocnemidinae)

Eyprepocprifas insularis, male from Assomada Pass.

Eyprepocprifas insularis, female from Assomada Pass.

Eyprepocprifas insularis, female from Monte Cintinha.

Eyprepocprifas insularis, male from Assomada Pass.

Eyprepocprifas insularis, nymph from Monte Gordo.