Women need to exercise and eat differently than men. Dr. Stacy Sims explains | CNN

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As reproductive health remains a key issue in the 2024 US presidential election, the latest order signed by President Joe Biden to improve research on women’s health has grabbed the headlines. The order of March 18 is notable for its goal of integrating women’s health into all government agencies and driving new research. The timing could not have been better.

For centuries, medical researchers have studied only men, downplayed or completely ignored the differences between the sexes and extrapolated their findings to women. However, women are not the same physiologically as men – they are clearly marked by the onset of menstruation. it’s female puberty and two X chromosomes – and therefore often given incomplete, poor and dangerous medical advice.

This long-term lack of research based on women caused by sexism and sexism prompted Dr. Stacy Sims, a fitness and nutrition scientist based in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, to use her work to see how women should eat and exercise for a healthy life. “If we work with our physiology knowing that women are women and men are men, we know that women are not little men, think about the (health) results,” he said in a 2019 TED talk.

READ MORE: Lab rats are very male, and that’s a problem

A heart attack is a good example. Although it was known in 2007 that women are twice as likely to die from heart disease as men, and that they report more symptoms related to acute coronary syndromes, a study by the National Institutes of Health published that year it is still encouraging against identifying the symptoms of heart disease. between men and women.

Even today, women are still vastly underrepresented in the medical literature, according to a 2022 study published in Women’s Health Reports. Misogynistic attitudes also persist. And although the US National Institutes of Health in 2016 implemented a policy that requires researchers to consider sex as a separate factor in their health research, the results were mixed.

The number of surveys including women increased significantly after the initiative was launched. However, a bibliometric analysis of 2019 – a rigorous method of analyzing large amounts of data – showed that most of the more than 700 medical studies failed to analyze the data presented on sex, reducing their usefulness.

Sims, who is also the author of the science-based book “Roar,” which explains the differences between sex and nutrition at different stages of life, recently shared his thoughts on the matter with CNN.

Before starting any new exercise program, talk to your doctor. Stop immediately if you experience pain. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

CNN: How is it possible that women are still under-educated in medicine in 2024?

Dr. Stacy Sims: I know! Isn’t that crazy? Historically, when you think about who developed science and research, women were initially pushed out. Men were like, “Oh, women are inferior creatures to us. They have a small brain.” Even Darwin said that women were not intelligent because they have small brains. So when you think about the scientific method and how it all started, who was in that room? They were all men. No one really questions the lack of educated women. They believed that women are sub-species of men, so whatever works for men works for women. It is very difficult to change a culture.

One thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has done that I appreciate is to keep researchers saying, “Holy sh*t, we really need to look at sex differences.” Because Covid-19 was more severe in men, but the effects of the vaccine were more prominent in women. Also, the long Covid has hit women harder and affected their brains more than men. That’s why we see all these sex-related things coming out as really good science rather than generalizations.

CNN: What are the most important things all women should do when it comes to exercise?

Sims: Any movement is fine, but it’s especially important for women to incorporate strength or resistance training. More for brain health. If we look at resistance training and the neural pathways it creates, we see it actually helps reduce dementia and Alzheimer’s – and there’s a sex difference there too. However, historically, women have not been advised to do resistance training. But across the board, from young to old, women should be doing strength training.

CNN: Does strength training have other effects as women approach menopause?

Sims: Yes. When our hormones start to change between 40 and 50, they have a huge impact on our body composition. We begin to lose muscle mass and put on more body fat. But if we have a small amount of strength training, it really helps to lower that rate of change. Strength training also helps protect our bones and helps us maintain balance and proper posture (knowing where our body is in space). We don’t see these kinds of changes in men until they reach their 50s to 70s.

CNN: What about gender differences in exercise when it comes to cardiovascular function?

Sims: Men can get away with anything. Women already have the ability to walk long and slow, so we don’t need to do that kind of exercise – our bodies are already there. What we need to do is really intense work: those really intense moments of 30 seconds or one minute. This helps women raise their metabolic rate, helps reduce visceral fat (in the deep abdomen) and, most importantly, helps keep our gut microbiome diverse and helps improve health the beauty of the heart. So when we look at all the research on high-intensity exercise versus low-intensity exercise, we really need to emphasize that high-intensity exercise, along with resistance training.

CNN: Do women recover from exercise the same way as men?

Sims: Immediately after exercise, there is a difference in blood pressure. Women will have vasodilation, so all their blood will go around, while men will have vasoconstriction, which means all their blood returns to their heart and can be pumped very quickly for get well soon. So women tend to have light-headedness and feel light-headed after a hard lesson, because all their blood is pooling. Drinking something cold immediately after exercise helps to recirculate the blood, reduce metabolites and start the repair process.

CNN: What about gender differences in nutrition?

Sims: There is a lot of discussion about protein intake and how low the recommended daily amount for women really is. It is also based on cadaver work in men aged 70 to 80. So although protein is important for both sexes, we need to emphasize it in women – especially as we grow older, as women become less able to exercise and eat protein, meaning their bodies don’t respond well to exercise and protein. to build muscle. So it takes a lot of protein, training after training, and high loads or more resistance training to get the protein synthesis of the muscles.

In general, women should have 1 to 1.1 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. If you’re strength training, have 15 grams of protein before the session and 30 to 35 grams afterwards, which helps with energy and eases recovery. For cardiovascular work, have 15 grams of protein with 30 grams of carbohydrates first – carbohydrates help raise blood sugar, because women’s bodies go through sugar blood quickly – but after that is when you need protein – 30 to 35 grams, or 40 grams. for perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women.

CNN: There’s been a lot of hype lately about the benefits of intermittent fasting, training in zone 2 — long and slow — and other fads. Are these equally beneficial for men and women?

Sims: Most of the methods out there are good for men, but it’s a different story for women. My voice always says, “Let’s show why what we see for people in general is not appropriate for women, but again, what is it?” i suitable for women?” Because nobody is used to pausing and saying, “Okay, I heard this. But what population was studied? If it was taught to men, it might not be so great for me as a woman. So, what is right for me? That’s a lot of steps.

Melanie Radzicki McManus is a freelance writer specializing in hiking, travel and fitness.