Physique competitions are events in which aesthetic appearance and posing ability are valued above physical performance. Female physique athletes are required to possess high lean body mass and extremely low fat mass in competition. As such, extended periods of reduced energy intake and intensive training regimens are used with acute weight loss practices at the end of the precompetition phase. This represents an increased risk for chronic low energy availability and associated symptoms of relative energy deficiency in sport, compromising both psychological and physiological health. Available literature suggests that a large proportion of female physique athletes report menstrual irregularities (e.g., amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea), which are unlikely to normalize immediately postcompetition. Furthermore, the tendency to reduce intakes of numerous essential micronutrients is prominent among those using restrictive eating patterns. Following competition, reduced resting metabolic rate, and hyperphagia, is also a concern for these female athletes, which can result in frequent weight cycling, distorted body image, and disordered eating/eating disorders. Overall, female physique athletes are an understudied population, and the need for more robust studies to detect low energy availability and associated health effects is warranted. This narrative review aims to define the natural female physique athlete, explore some of the physiological and psychological implications of weight management practices experienced by female physique athletes, and propose future research directions.

中文翻译：

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女性体质运动员的叙事评论：体重管理实践的生理和心理影响。

健美比赛是一种比身体表现更看重美貌和姿势能力的赛事。要求女运动员在比赛中拥有高瘦体重和极低脂肪量。因此，在赛前阶段结束时，长期减少能量摄入和强化训练方案与急性减肥练习一起使用。这代表了运动中长期低能量可用性和相关能量缺乏症状的风险增加，损害了心理和生理健康。现有文献表明，很大一部分女性体质运动员报告月经不规律（例如，闭经和月经稀发），这不太可能在比赛后立即恢复正常。此外，在使用限制性饮食模式的人中，减少大量必需微量营养素摄入量的趋势很突出。比赛结束后，静息代谢率降低和食欲亢进也是这些女运动员关注的问题，这可能导致频繁的体重循环、扭曲的身体形象和饮食失调。总体而言，女性健美运动员是一个研究不足的人群，需要进行更强有力的研究来检测低能量可用性和相关的健康影响。这篇叙述性评论旨在定义天生的女性体质运动员，探索女性体质运动员所经历的体重管理实践的一些生理和心理影响，并提出未来的研究方向。