Dr Lauren C Duckworth

Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Nutrition

Academic Associate of the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register

School of Sport, Carnegie Faculty

Leeds Beckett University, UK

What women want: sports

nutrition for the active female

• Traditionally sport and exercise nutrition research has

focused on males aged 18-35 years

• Understanding that requirements of females may be different

• Responses to nutritional interventions may differ

• Overall aims of exercise are also different

Nutrition for the active female

• Exercise and dietary practices are not well documented

• Survey of 200 active females aged 18-45 years in NE

England

• Defined as being physically active for at least 30 min a

day, at least 3 days per week for at least the previous 6

months

• 40 questions – demographics, dietary habits, appetite and mood, exercise habits

Nutrition for the active female

Veasey et al., The Effect of Breakfast Consumption Prior to Exercise on Cognitive Performance, Mood

and Appetite, Under Review (Phd Thesis)

Survey results

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

% r

esp

on

se

s

Main reasons for exercising (n=200)

Veasey et al., The Effect of Breakfast Consumption Prior to Exercise on Cognitive

Performance, Mood and Appetite, Under Review (Phd Thesis)

• Exercise improves mood, alertness,

concentration and improved ability to

perform work

• Over half the sample reported that they

felt hungrier for the rest of the day

when they had exercised in the morning

compared to days with no exercise

Survey results

Veasey et al., The Effect of Breakfast Consumption Prior to Exercise on Cognitive

Performance, Mood and Appetite, Under Review (Phd Thesis)

Gender differences- fuel utilisation

Suggested that women more accurately balance energy expenditure and intake

to defend body fat stores and preserve reproductive function.

Tarnopolsky, M.A. (2000). Gender differences in metabolism; nutrition and supplements. Journal of Science

and Medicine in Sport 3 (3): 287-298.

Gender differences- fuel utilisation

Gender differences- food choice

Gender Differences in Food Choice and Dietary Intake in Modern Western Societies in "Public Health -

Social and Behavioral Health“ (2012)

More aware about diet

Embrace dietary change

“quality/freshness,

price”,

Greater level of nutritional

knowledge

Habitual and routine,

necessary activity to fuel

Perceive healthy eating as

monotonous / unsatisfying.

“taste”

More independent

regarding food preferences

• Gender differences in post-

exercise appetite regulation?

• Potential issue of over-

compensation following

exercise over consecutive days

Appetite regulation: acute exercise

Thackray et al. (2016) Exercise, Appetite and Weight Control: Are There Differences between

Men and Women? Nutrients, 8, 583

Appetite regulation: chronic exercise

Thackray et al. (2016) Exercise, Appetite and Weight Control: Are There Differences between

Men and Women? Nutrients, 8, 583

• 12-week exercise programme

• No changes in daily energy

intakes

• No weight changes

• Large individual variability

Appetite regulation- exercise vs. diet

Alajmi et al. (2016) Appetite and Energy Intake Responses to Acute Energy Deficits in Females versus

Males, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 48, 3, 412–420.

• In response to long-term endurance exercise, women oxidise proportionately more lipid and

less carbohydrate and protein as compared to men.

• Men and women show similar rates of glycogen re-synthesis when carbohydrate (~0.6–1.0

g/kg) and protein (~10 g) are consumed in the minutes following exercise.

• Women are at greater risk for energy and protein insufficiency as compared to men due to

the greater incidence of energy restriction.

• Men and women do not exhibit different responses (appetite, appetite-regulatory hormones,

energy intake) to acute or chronic exercise-induced energy deficits.

Conclusions…

• We need to do more research in females!

• Acute studies versus chronic practice

• Growing developments in sports nutrition products for the active female

• Recovery from exercise induced muscle damage – does oestrogen play a

protective role?

• Muscle glycogen and lipid utilisation and resynthesis in females

• Specific nutrient requirements of female athletes

Future research…

Thank you

L.Duckworth@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

@duckworth_l

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