The NCAA, along with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses, hosted the second annual Female Athlete Triad Summit at the Association's national office in Indianapolis Aug. 1-2 to address policies and practices associated with the triad of medical disorders that affect female athletes.

The summit featured presentations from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Jane Gottesman, author of "Game Face," a photo essay of the female athlete that focuses on the strength women have to offer. Those who attended on behalf of their organizations submitted recommendations to encourage the coalition's mission to promote optimal health and well-being of female athletes and prevent the Female Athlete Triad through advocacy, education, global leadership, public policy and research.

The Female Athlete Triad is a pattern of disordered eating that may lead to eating disorders, amenorrhea (loss of menses) and bone loss (osteoporosis). The emphasis on weight loss may begin a cycle in which all three of these problems occur.

The triad summit was developed to support cultures that promote healthy athletic environments, establish public policy, effect change in national and international governing bodies, eliminate inappropriate dietary treatment approaches of female athletes, provide education about the triad and determine the scope of the problem through research.

At the summit, the ACSM introduced a revised conceptual model of the triad to include athletes who may be at-risk, such as those involved in judged or endurance sports.

"One of the most important refinements in the definition of the Female Athlete Triad is the clarification that each of the components of the triad occur on a continuum, one condition potentially leading to others, but not necessarily all immediately existing at once," ACSM Executive Vice-President Jim Whitehead said.

The next summit will be August 6-7, 2004 in Livingston, Montana. For more information contact Mary Wilfert, NCAA assistant director of education outreach, at 317/917-6319.