CNS Sports Nutrition & Exercise Physiology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The female athlete triad consists of which three interrelated components?
- Overtraining, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis
- Low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density (Correct answer)
- Disordered eating, muscle wasting, and vitamin D deficiency
- Anemia, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance
Correct answer: Low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density
The female athlete triad is defined by the spectrum of low energy availability (with or without disordered eating), menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density.
Question 2: Which body composition assessment method uses the principle that lean tissue is denser than fat tissue to estimate percent body fat?
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)
- Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)
- Hydrostatic (underwater) weighing (Correct answer)
- Skinfold calipers
Correct answer: Hydrostatic (underwater) weighing
Hydrostatic weighing calculates body density from the difference between dry land weight and underwater weight, then applies the Siri or Brozek equation to estimate body fat percentage.
Question 3: Co-ingestion of protein with carbohydrate immediately after resistance exercise primarily enhances recovery by:
- Increasing carbohydrate absorption rate in the small intestine
- Stimulating muscle protein synthesis and augmenting insulin-mediated glucose uptake (Correct answer)
- Reducing cortisol concentrations to zero
- Eliminating delayed onset muscle soreness completely
Correct answer: Stimulating muscle protein synthesis and augmenting insulin-mediated glucose uptake
Post-exercise protein provides amino acids to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, while carbohydrate raises insulin, which promotes glycogen synthesis and synergistically supports protein anabolism.
Question 4: An endurance athlete training at altitude (>2,500 m) for 3 weeks requires increased dietary attention to which micronutrient due to accelerated erythropoiesis?
- Calcium
- Iron (Correct answer)
- Zinc
- Vitamin C
Correct answer: Iron
Altitude hypoxia stimulates erythropoietin release and red blood cell production, substantially increasing iron demand for hemoglobin synthesis during altitude training blocks.
Question 5: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) differs from the female athlete triad in that RED-S:
- Applies only to female athletes with eating disorders
- Encompasses male athletes and affects multiple physiological systems beyond bone and reproduction (Correct answer)
- Focuses exclusively on bone stress fracture risk
- Is less severe and requires no clinical intervention
Correct answer: Encompasses male athletes and affects multiple physiological systems beyond bone and reproduction
RED-S is an expanded model recognizing that chronic low energy availability impairs metabolic rate, immunity, cardiovascular function, psychological health, and more in both male and female athletes.
Question 6: Which ergogenic effect of caffeine is most strongly supported by current evidence in endurance athletes?
- Increased muscle glycogen storage prior to exercise
- Enhanced fat utilization that completely spares carbohydrate
- Reduced perceived exertion and improved time-to-exhaustion performance (Correct answer)
- Increased testosterone production
Correct answer: Reduced perceived exertion and improved time-to-exhaustion performance
Caffeine is a well-established adenosine receptor antagonist that reduces perceived effort and has been repeatedly shown to improve time-to-exhaustion and time-trial performance in endurance exercise.
Question 7: A marathon runner reports chronic fatigue, declining performance, mood disturbances, and frequent illness over several months. The MOST likely nutritional diagnosis is:
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Overreaching with relative energy deficiency (Correct answer)
- Lactose intolerance
- Excessive protein intake
Correct answer: Overreaching with relative energy deficiency
This constellation of symptoms—reduced performance, fatigue, immune suppression, and mood changes in a high-volume endurance athlete—is characteristic of overreaching driven by insufficient caloric intake relative to training load.
CNS Sports Nutrition & Exercise Physiology 2
The female athlete triad consists of which three interrelated components?