Knowledge, Attitude and Training Behavior towards Relative Energy Deficiency - Syndrome (RED-S) in Young Male Athletes of Bhubaneswar : A Descriptive Study
Description
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) is a syndrome arising from chronic low energy availability that affects bone health, hormonal function, and long-term athletic performance. Although increasingly studied in male athletes internationally, little is known about how much young Indian athletes understand about the condition, or how that understanding shapes their training and eating practices. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude, and training behaviour of 236 young male athletes aged 15 to 21 years, drawn from fourteen sports across two major training institutions in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. A structured, expert-validated questionnaire was administered through a Google Form to collect data on athletes' knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported training practices related to RED-S. As the resulting scores were not normally distributed, non-parametric statistical methods were used throughout. The findings revealed only moderate knowledge and attitude scores overall, with more than half the sample unable to identify the basic definition of RED-S, and a striking gap in training behaviour: over two-thirds of athletes reported no regular RED-S screening. Knowledge varied significantly across sports, while training behaviour did not, suggesting the screening gap identified is systemic rather than confined to any one discipline. Taken together, these findings indicate that young male athletes in this setting train with a limited and unevenly distributed understanding of a condition that can meaningfully affect their long-term health and performance, pointing to a clear need for structured, sport-wide RED-S education and routine screening within Indian athletic academies.