Female athlete triad components in aesthetic sports practitioners: a systematic review

Introduction: Aesthetic sports require technical and artistic skills as well as physical capabilities. These sports are relevant in investigations about risk of eating disorders, and female athlete triad, since athletes who practice this type of sport have a greater risk in these aspects. Objective: this review aimed to determine how the female athlete triad and its components are assessed by aesthetic sport practitioners and to analyse the prevalence of these components. Furthermore, it sought to identify studies that investigated the associations between these components and the sport-related, anthropometric, sociodemographic, biological and psychological characteristics. Methodology: this review followed the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The studies involved women aged 12 to 44 years practicing aesthetic sports at any competitive level, whether amateur or professional. Results: a total of 2,950 articles were identified from the search in the first round and 660 in the second round, of which 13 met the inclusion criteria of this review. The study identified various associations between these components and the sport-related, anthropometric, sociodemographic, biological and psychological variables. Discussion: Regarding the heterogeneity of methodologies and results, it is noteworthy that the use of more costly assessment methods, requires more human and material resources, limiting the ability to include a larger sample from a population that is difficult to capture owing to their sport-dedicated routine. Conclusions: Methods for assessing the components of the triad and for achieving alignment among the reference values are needed to facilitate the replication and comparison of results.