Women ARE just as resilient as men when it comes to extreme physical activity, study finds
- Study by scientists examined women who trekked across the Antarctic
- It found that they experienced no more negative health effects than in men
- Scientists say findings should bust the myth that men are the tougher sex
It might seem obvious to anyone who has given birth.
Now scientists agree: When it comes to extreme physical activity, women can be just as resilient as men.
A study found that women who trekked across the Antarctic showed no more negative health effects than would be expected in men.
Dr Robert Gifford and colleagues from Edinburgh University and the Royal Centre for Defence examined the effects of extreme exercise on hormone levels and the health of the Ice Maiden team (pictured)
Scientists say the findings should serve to bust the myth that men are the tougher sex.
It has been suggested that the female reproductive system and stress responses are more sensitive to the negative effects of extreme physical activity.
Scientists say there is some evidence that arduous physical activity can suppress normal female reproductive hormone activity, impair bone strength and elevate stress hormone levels to a greater extent than in men.
But tests on the first all-female team to cross the Antarctic showed that these can be avoided with the right preparation and training.
The Ice Maiden team were all serving in the British Army or Army Reserve when in January they followed in the footsteps of Felicity Aston’s record-breaking solo Antarctic crossing in 2012.
They endured 62 days on the ice, travelling 1,050 miles while battling temperatures as low as –40C (–40F) and pulling sledges weighing up to 13 stone.
Dr Robert Gifford and colleagues from Edinburgh University and the Royal Centre for Defence examined the effects of extreme exercise on hormone levels and the health of the six women.
The researchers monitored several markers of their health before and after the successful expedition including indicators of stress, reproductive and metabolic hormone levels, body weight and bone strength.
The findings indicated not only that markers of reproductive function and bone strength were preserved, but that some markers showed evidence of delayed, exercise-related benefit to their physical fitness two weeks after the expedition. The study, presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Glasgow, is the first to suggest that women are not more susceptible to the negative effects of physical exertion.
Dr Gifford said: ‘Our findings contain some potentially myth-busting data on the impact of extreme physical activity on women. We have shown that with appropriate training and preparation, many of the previously reported negative health effects can be avoided.’
The limitations of the study included the small sample size of only six women, of similar age and ethnicity.
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