Consensus statement

The International Olympic Committee:  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has published a new Consensus Statement aimed at protecting athletes' health.

The consensus was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and centered on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), a syndrome affecting health and performance caused by a mismatch between calories eaten and burned during exercise, the IOC said.

The IOC said it had led the way in research into REDs, which affects multiple body systems and functions as well as athlete performance, and was first recognized as a distinct entity by the IOC in 2014, reports Xinhua.