It’s surprising how long it took for science to give adequate attention to women’s health.

A woman today is still more likely to suffer bodily trauma from a seatbelt in car collisions – because they are designed with the male physique in mind.

You’re also less likely to notice she is having a heart attack, because the current guidelines are based on male symptoms.

And despite women accounting for 70 percent of chronic pain patients, 80 percent of pain medication on the shelves today are dosed to suit the ‘average’ cis-gendered male body. That is because, until recently, dosing was tested only on men (or male mice).

Incredibly, until 1993, there was no requirement whatsoever that women be involved in clinical trials, when testing newly designed products.

As an exercise physiologist specialising in women’s bodies, this astounds me.

Women’s bodies remain chronically understudied and misunderstood. Women in midlife and older are particularly marginalised, and teenagers are prone to filling the scientific vacuum with poorly informed health influencers on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Only now are we playing catch up, and conditions specifically affecting women – such as endometriosis and menopause – are only recently starting to get anywhere near the scientific attention they deserve.

In saying this, there are concerning steps in the United States to remove words like “women” and “gender” from research studies. This represents an enormous step backward in the progress we have made to ensure diversity in science.

From adolescent athletes to mothers in menopause

It was while coaching teenage athletes that I realised we need to know a lot more about women’s physiology in order to help.

I had fourteen-year-old girls asking me why they didn’t feel strong in their arms while they had their period, or whether taking the birth control pill for their sport would make them gain weight. At the time, I didn’t have an answer.

Now, I specialise in exercise physiology, focusing specifically on women’s bodies. This includes everything from menstruation, pain management, weight management, cognitive health to menopause.

In one study into caffeine supplementation, my research team found men and women had a similar performance response to the supplement, but caffeine appeared in much higher concentrations in the women’s circulation, even though the dose prescribed was identical, based on weight.

This is because women have a different body composition and metabolism, meaning muscle and fat often metabolise drugs and compounds differently.

It’s complexity like this – as well as menstrual cycle physiology, hormonal fluctuations, or concerns about pregnancy – that has caused women to be sidelined from studies for so long.

It’s a historical legacy too.

Until recently, the majority of scientists were men, meaning these female-specific conditions were overlooked for study altogether.

So while it’s easier to design studies on men, it’s not giving us the information we need. 

The tides are turning

A recent public spotlight on menopause, the menstrual cycle, and PMS is positive because these can be really big issues for women.

I’m excited to see scientists rolling up their sleeves to tackle such complex problems because this is where we can make things better for people and have a huge impact in their lives.

Unfortunately, there are many influential media and wellness influencers offering advice that’s not necessarily steeped in evidence.

Until more research is done, people will continue to seek answers.

To ensure science is responding, women need to be represented in research grants, science staff and leadership so that these issues continue to be championed as important and extremely worthy of further study.

Diverse perspectives and lived experience in designing studies and clinical trials ultimately lead to safer and more effective innovations.

This work is supported by a number of organisations, including Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE), with Associate Professor Gail Crimmins and Professor Ross Young co-chairing UniSC’s Athena Swan Committee.

UniSC holds the SAGE Athena Swan Bronze Award accreditation, for its commitment to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion are a workforce, ethical and organisational issue.

With this support, we know science focusing on issues specific to women will continue to be championed.

Women’s health doesn’t just affect women. The healthcare costs, lost productivity and absenteeism across the reproductive age span are significant. 

Really, there’s still so much we don’t know about the female body. And considering women make up half of the Australian population, more research is well overdue.