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Women's Issues
Specific Issues
Women's Fear of Fat
Nutrition and the Female Athlete

Focus on women
Women have worse health than men, despite the fact that women live longer, Overall, women have more acute symptoms, chronic conditions and short and long term disabilities resulting from health problems. Some diseases are unique to women-ovarian or uterine cancers, for example-whereas other diseases and conditions, such as osteoporosis, affect them disproportionately. In addition, with longer life spans, women face greater susceptibility to disease and disability as they age.

Nutrition is more important for women

The decreased number of calories needed by women also means that they're more prone to weight gain.

Nutrition is as or more important for women as it is in men. Since women are physiologically different from men, they have special nutritional needs. While as children the needs of boys and girls are basically the same, this changes at puberty and remains different up to the menopause. Women need less calories than men because of their smaller size and muscle mass. Muscle is responsible for significant thermogenic effects that increases caloric need. This is one the reasons that exercise is so useful in weight loss. Not only is there an increased energy output because of the exercise but also an increase in the resting and active metabolic weight due to the increased muscle mass that results from exercising.

The decreased number of calories needed by women also means that they're more prone to weight gain. As such many more women than men diet on an on-again off-again basis.

Special considerations for women
It's important to realize that while women have some special nutritional needs, they also must follow the general nutritional guidelines that apply to both men and women.

...most diets and dietary strategies work equally well in both men and women.

For example when losing weight regardless of the number of calories needed, the weight loss equation remains the same. Calories out must be greater than calories taken in. The problem of course is that because calories out is lower than in men, women have to eat less to lose to even maintain their weight.

Also, there is normally very little difference in the recommended macronutrient and micronutrient intake, although these may differ during pregnancy and breastfeeding. This means that most diets and dietary strategies work equally well in both men and women.

Menopause
The period of life in and around the menopause may require some special nutritional considerations. While this transition period may or may not cause severe symptoms some foods and nutrients may be useful. For example soy products rich in phytoestrogens may help with hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings. Soy products may also have other benefits including favorable effects on serum cholesterol, heart disease and osteoporosis. It's important to take in enough calcium and folic acid in order to decrease disease risks.

Women also may want to change their nutrient intake to deal with other problems and conditions. While it's obvious that dietary changes are necessary for dealing with pregnancy and breast feeding, less obvious conditions such as PMS may also benefit from certain dietary changes.