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Louise Burke
Affiliations
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Member, Australian Institute of Sport, Sports Supplement Framework Committee
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Member, Nutrition Working Group of International Olympic Committee
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Director, International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Nutrition
Education
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Doctor of Philosophy, Deakin University, Australia
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Graduate Diploma of Dietetics, Deakin University
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Bachelor of Science (Nutrition), Deakin University
Research
Dr. Louise Burke is a Professorial Fellow at Australian Catholic University and a renowned sports dietitian with decades of experience advising elite athletes. She spent 30 years at the Australian Institute of Sport and served as the team dietitian for the Australian Olympic Teams during the Summer Games from 1996 to 2012. In recognition of her contributions to sports nutrition, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Resources I Recommend
This study's objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current trends in how endurance athletes seek out and utilize information resources for education on nutrition and hydration strategies. This analysis focuses on the methods and platforms athletes use to prepare for participation in community-based marathon events, exploring how they integrate evidence-based guidelines, expert advice, and personal experiences to optimize their performance and overall health during training and competition.
The need to address the underrepresentation of female athletes in sports nutrition research is receiving substantial attention from practitioners and academics alike. To systematically and efficiently direct priorities for future research activities, we have developed a protocol to “audit” the current literature across various areas of sports nutrition research. This process provides detailed information regarding the quantity, quality, and nature of existing research including women. We have conducted such audits across the areas of dietary performance (auditPERF) and medical (auditMED) supplements, both acute and chronic carbohydrate (CHO) fueling strategies (auditCHO AC and auditCHO CH ), as well as protocols for heat adaptation (auditHEAT). Women accounted for between 11% and 23% of the total participant count across these themes, with the exception of auditMED where female participants dominated (71%). Across all audits, few studies compared responses between the sexes or investigated sex-specific differences. Furthermore, methodological consideration of menstrual status was poor, with only 0.25% of studies implementing best practice recommendations and 79% of studies failing to classify menstrual status entirely. Females were most poorly represented in studies examining sports performance outcomes, and few studies involved elite female athletes (national/international level) within participant cohorts. Our findings demonstrate an overall lack of female-specific considerations in the literature underpinning the current guidelines in the areas of dietary performance/medical supplementation, CHO fueling, and heat adaptation. As such, current guidelines may not reflect optimal practice for female athletes. New research should therefore implement female-specific methodological considerations, with particular attention to menstrual status, before these current sports nutrition guidelines can be applied to female athletes with complete confidence.
Hormonal changes around ovulation divide the menstrual cycle (MC) into the follicular and luteal phases. Additionally, oral contraceptives (OC) have active (higher hormone) and placebo phases. While there are some MC-based effects on various physiological outcomes, we found these differences relatively subtle and difficult to attribute to specific hormones, as estrogen and progesterone fluctuate rather than in a complete on/off pattern as in cellular or pre-clinical models often used to substantiate human data. A broad view reveals that the differences between the follicular and luteal phases and between OC active and placebo phases are not associated with marked differences in exercise performance and appear unlikely to influence muscular hypertrophy in response to resistance exercise training. A systematic review and meta-analysis of substrate oxidation between MC phases revealed no difference between phases in the relative carbohydrate and fat oxidation at rest and during acute aerobic exercise. Vascular differences between MC phases are also relatively small or non-existent. While OC can vary in composition and androgenicity, we acknowledge that much more work remains to be done in this area; however, based on what little evidence is currently available, we do not find compelling support for the notion that OC use significantly influences exercise performance, substrate oxidation, or hypertrophy. It is important to note that the study of females requires better methodological control in many areas. Previous studies lacking such rigour have contributed to premature or incorrect conclusions regarding the effects of the MC and systemic hormones on outcomes. While we acknowledge that the evidence in certain research areas is limited, the consensus view is that the impact of the MC and OC use on various aspects of physiology is small or non-existent.