Abstract
Diagnosing overtraining syndrome is challenging and it is often correlated with
other diseases, especially those related to low energy availability. Therefore,
we investigated the prevalence of overtraining syndrome-like symptoms and
correlative factors in 389 female and 572 male national-level high school track
and field athletes. They were asked to complete a survey regarding their history
of overtraining syndrome-like symptoms, injuries, and diseases. The survey
results revealed that 13.4% (52/389) of female and 13.3%
(76/572) of male athletes had a history of overtraining syndrome-like
symptoms. Logistic regression analysis showed that training hours per day (odds
ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–2.71) was an
associated factor in female athletes, while rest days per week (odds ratio,
0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.37–1.00), skipping meals (odds
ratio, 3.73; 95% confidence interval, 1.50–9.29), and having
snacks/light meals on a regular basis (odds ratio, 0.46; 95%
confidence interval, 0.26–0.83) were the associated factors in male
athletes. In conclusion, athletes with overtraining syndrome-like symptoms may
be prone to injuries and diseases. Hence, although overtraining syndrome is
difficult to diagnose, further attention should be paid to minimize overtraining
syndrome-related risks.
Key words
overtraining syndrome - injury - anemia - track and field
