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Women who underwent extreme physical training and completed an expedition to Antarctica did not experience more health issues than men.
Study Shows: Women Are Just as Tough as Men
Despite the fact that a bald Demi Moore and billions of other women have known it for years, this research might also convince men. It is the first study to show that:
- Women do not experience more negative effects due to physical exhaustion.
- With the right training and preparation, women are just as resilient as men.
I understand that I should have announced this news with all the necessary fanfare immediately after its publication in November last year. However, at that time, I was fully focused on describing the exercises for the online coaching app. So, no cover-up affair.
‘The Weaker Sex’
This explanation is mainly intended for male readers (before I get accused of
mansplaining).
Discrimination in the good sense is: “If the water is cold, I can drink it. If it’s boiling hot, I’ll wait a moment.” Making distinctions based on a difference and the characteristics directly associated with that difference.
Discrimination in the bad sense is when you start linking other differences to that difference itself. “The water is hot, so it must also be red in color.”
When it comes to strength, you can think of the ability to squat a certain weight, how fast you can sprint 100 meters, or how far you can throw a baseball (sorry). Nobody will call you crazy if you bet on a random man stepping into the ring with a random woman of the same age. But you shouldn’t automatically translate that difference into a difference in recovery capacity after extreme exertion.
Even if women are capable of the same extreme physical exertion as men, there are scientists who say they shouldn’t [1].
It has been reported that the female reproductive system and stress responses are more sensitive to the negative effects of extreme physical activity. 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.
Polar Expedition
However, according to Dr. Robert Gifford and colleagues from the University of Edinburgh, there is still too little known about why the sexes react differently when endurance is severely tested. They examined the effects of extreme training on the hormone levels of all six participants of the first trans-Antarctic expedition consisting entirely of women. The research was conducted in collaboration with the Royal Centre for Defence, a British medical center for military personnel. So, the reference to G.I. Jane wasn’t entirely unfounded.
The researchers looked at various indicators of health before and after the (successful) expedition. These included stress hormones, estrogen, testosterone, metabolism-related hormones, as well as body weight and bone strength.
The results showed that the levels of sex hormones and bone strength were maintained. In fact, in some indicators, the positive effects of training were seen. These were delayed effects observed two weeks after the expedition.
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…
…These findings could have important relevance for men and women in arduous or stressful employment, where there is concern that they are damaging their health. If an appropriate training and nutritional regime is followed, their health may be protected.
Dr. Robert Gifford and colleagues from the University of Edinburgh
Caveats
I would not be entirely consistent if I did not address the caveats and limitations of the study now. So, let Beyoncé and the drums wait just a little longer behind the scenes.
What we know now is that the presumed ‘weak zone’ (the measured hormones and bone strength) of these six women responded in the same way to a polar expedition as can be expected from men.
We must also be careful not to draw other conclusions from this. For example, what would the results be if the expedition lasted twice as long? Possibly, neither men nor women would survive that. But if you don’t know, you can’t assume that there won’t be any differences at a later point.
The researchers also mention another limitation. For example, they could not adjust for the different levels of training and age among the women. Six participants is also not a very large number. But in the case of an expedition to the South Pole, it’s understandable that you can’t easily scale this up to large numbers.
A polar expedition is no small feat. I certainly wouldn’t do it myself. But it’s just one form of extreme exertion. The researchers therefore want to conduct similar studies under other conditions of extreme exertion.
References
- Society for Endocrinology. “Women more resilient to extreme physical activity than previously reported.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 November 2018.
