Female Athletes Essay

Women in professional sports fits into the Sex and Power: Global Gender Inequality class because many female athletes have experienced the inequalities in a professional sports setting. Female athletes are being put down by gender inequalities, causing less females participating in athletic programs. Women athletes are being paid less than their male counterparts. Along with being paid less, female and males are receiving unequal benefits in the form of scholarship, media coverage, transportation, and stadium conditions. The professional sport’s world is filled with the obsession of body image and sexuality. Through this obsession, female athletes have been abused from the people they trust the most. There is an increasing inequality in women’s professional sports in the form of pay, sexuality, and abuse.

The most prominent cause of Iron Deficiency Anemia is bleeding. Blood loss from the Gastrointestinal Tract is a significant cause of anemia for both men and women. When blood is present in excrement, a gastrointestinal problem exists. Many times, people are unaware of these problems with their waste products. When they begin to feel the symptoms of anemia and undergo tests that determine that they are anemic, it begins the process of discovering more health problems. Anemia can serve as the precursor of certain diseases. There are many instances when it is merely a sign of severe disease such as a peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, hemorrhoids, angiodysplasis of the colon, and colonic adenocarcinoma (http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/sep_96/browne.htm).

Take hemochromatosis, a hereditary condition that causes iron to accumulate in a person's body. A person having hemochromatosis

Iron deficiency anemia, one of the most common types of anemia, is a blood disorder where

While exercise may not be able to eliminate all of the discomfort associated with pregnancy, it can help with circulation, digestion, and constipation, as well as improve posture and muscle tone, which you will need to support joints that are loosened by various hormones as your body prepares for childbirth. Additionally, exercise can counteract the changes in body image and self-esteem that you possess. Most importantly, an appropriate exercise program can help prepare for the mental and physical demands of labor and delivery.

In the beginning of every cross country season, my coach stressed the importance that all the female runners must take one iron pill a day. I never gave in to this because he never gave us an explanation, so I saw this as merely a mental booster rather than actual improvement present in my body. After doing some research, I found out that iron is an essential nutrient used by the human body for to transport oxygen and produce energy. Iron is present in every single cell of the body and carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissue in the form of hemoglobin, which is the oxygen-transport protein in red blood cells. Lack of iron results in both fatigue and weakness, which is definitely harmful to a cross country runner. Iron deficiency affects women about 8-10 times more than men, which is why it is crucial for women runners to watch their iron levels (Sinclair, Hinton). If iron deficiency worsens, it can lead to anemia. Anemia is when you do not have enough red blood cells, and as a result, less hemoglobin. If a cross country runner has anemia, it can affect their whole season because they are exerting energy without the sufficient amount of oxygen needed to complete each run or workout.

Anemia is a condition that effects “more than 3 million people in the United States” (Peterson, 2012). Anemia is a decrease in red blood cells (RBCs) or decreased hemoglobin in an individual’s blood. RBCs carry oxygen rich blood throughout an individual’s tissues and organs, allowing the body to function properly. Therefore, an anemic person has a decreased amount of oxygen rich blood flowing through their body. A decreased amount of oxygenated blood is not immediately life threatening but can become very serious. Some potential side effects of anemia are; fatigue, lack of energy, pallor, organ damage, heart failure and death (Peterson, 2012). There are multiple types of anemia with the most common being; iron-deficiency anemia, folic acid-deficiency anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency and microcytic anemia (PDRhealth, 2015).

Therefore, the amount of hemoglobin in blood is critical to a runner’s capacity to compete. As hemoglobin levels drop, so does an athlete’s ability to perform. Without this knowledge, many runners can potentially suffer from symptoms of an iron deficiency without understanding how or why they can no longer perform as they once could. The directly proportional relationship between the amount of hemoglobin, and therefore iron, and a runner’s ability to compete is important for athletes to understand. Information provided by the medical community can help to ultimately prevent a deficiency from occurring. However, through iron supplementation, athletes can return their levels to the healthy standard to decrease the effect of iron deficiency symptoms on their ability to compete. The authors summarize their findings in the study of treating fatigue in nonanemic female patients with low serum ferritin concentration by providing intravenous iron

Conferring to the case study 1 of Ms. A, who is suffering from iron deficiency anemia. “People who experience iron deficiency anemia lack adequate iron required to produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin supports red blood cells in carrying oxygen all through the body” (Mayo Clinic, 2014). In this presentation, the writer will provide rationales where Ms. A is presenting signs and symptoms of Iron Deficiency Anemia.

Anemia is a condition in which the concentration of red blood cells or hemoglobin in the blood is below normal. Hemoglobin is a substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the tissues of the body. Anemia results in not enough oxygen reaching these tissues.

Calorie needs for endurance, strength, and team sport pregnant athletes should be calculated the same manner as they would for nonpregnant athletes and then an extra 300 calories added. It has been revealed that calorie needs during pregnancy can range from 25 calories per day up to 800 calories per day. If 300 calories a day is used for every pregnant athlete around the globe, some women may gain too much weight, others may fail to gain enough weight.

Another often overlooked source of erythrocyte loss found to be greater in athletes and following exercise is gastrointestinal blood loss, which, in addition to other causes, can lead to an iron deficiency. Marathon runners, due to their high volume of training, secrete more blood than the average individual, suggesting this can contribute to the acquisition of an iron deficiency. The author cites two studies, one conducted by Laurence F. McMahon and the other by David A. Alquist, in which gastrointestinal blood loss of distance runners was measured and analyzed. The studies concluded that approximately one third of the racers experienced a blood loss of at least 3 milliliters of blood every day, at least 1 milliliter more than the non-racers’

Studies have shown that diabetic mother’s fetuses can become deformed during the early weeks of pregnancy. During the later weeks of the pregnancy the mothers excess blood glucose goes to the fetus, making it overfed. Now the fetus needs more iron because of their levels in insulin, which means the fetus needs more oxygen. To get the oxygen the fetus needs it produces more oxygen carrying red blood cells, which needs iron. To get the extra iron the fetus will need to take it from its liver, heart, and even the brain.

It is good for any woman to be physically fit throughout her life. However, being in good physical condition before becoming pregnant is substantial. Being fit helps a woman’s body meet the physical demands of carrying and delivering a baby. Regular exercise reduces the occurrence of common pregnancy ailments. Unless a doctor decides against it for medical reasons, pregnant women can and should be active before, during and after pregnancy.      

Iron deficiency anemia is quite common in children, as iron is needed to support growth. A lack of iron in the diet can cause delays in brain development, which may be irreversible. Common symptoms of iron deficiency anemia include irritability, palor, weakness, and cold hands and feet. Prevention of anemia is crucial for expectant mothers, as anemic women are at a higher risk for delivery complications such as hemorrhaging and having infants of low-birth weight. (Frantz, C. 2010).