A packed International Women’s Day event at the Health Innovation Campus saw a group of influential speakers discussing female nutrition, hormones and athlete health.

The expert panel featured leading dietician and nutritionist, Renee McGregor, GP and lecturer, Dr Milli Raizada, and British Weightlifting coach and academic, Sally Thompson-Taylor - and was chaired by Distinguished Professor Jo Rycroft-Malone, Executive Dean of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University.

The talk centred around challenges for female athletes in terms of training and nutrition. Renee opened by explaining the dangers of extrapolating studies based on men’s athleticism. Without nuanced data, she added, it is possible for information to be skewed or even fabricated. In short, women are not textbook examples, but living, breathing organisms.

She added: “Not all information is relevant to all women. If something looks too good to be true it probably is.”

Milli went on to advocate for a methodology which accounts for nuances in how symptoms manifest, based on complexities during the menstrual cycle.

She added: “By taking a holistic approach we can hope to address the root cause of problems rather than simply offering pain relief.”

For Milli, it is important to consider how athletes can progress within their own limitations – not comparing themselves to unachievable standards based on disinformation. She added that GPs and the younger population should be empowered with more knowledge around exactly how the body works. Even reputable sources evolve their definitions, she said.

Finally, Sally Thompson-Taylor made the case for starting conversations around athlete health early by normalising issues surrounding menstruation. Equally, support should be signposted based on connections with legitimate coaches.

She added: “Also, importantly, the end of an athlete’s professional athlete represents a huge shift in lifestyle which requires individualised support.”