Bidirectional Interactions between the Menstrual Cycle, Exercise Training, and Macronutrient Intake in Women: A Review

Abstract

Women have a number of specificities that differentiate them from men. In particular, the role of sex steroid hormones and the menstrual cycle (MC) significantly impact women’s physiology. The literature has shown nonlinear relationships between MC, exercise, and nutritional intake. Notably, these relationships are bidirectional and less straightforward than one would suppose. For example, the theoretical implications of the MC’s phases on exercise performance do not always translate into relevant practical effects. There is often a disconnect between internal measures (e.g., levels of hormone concentrations) and external performance. Furthermore, it is not entirely clear how nutritional intake varies across the MC’s phases and whether these variations impact on exercise performance. Therefore, a thorough review of the existing knowledge could help in framing these complex relationships and potentially contribute to the optimization of exercise prescription and nutritional intake according to the naturally occurring phases of the MC. Throughout this review, an emerging trend is the lack of generalizability and the need to individualize interventions, since the consequences of the MC’s phases and their relationships with exercise and nutritional intake seem to vary greatly from person to person. In this sense, average data are probably not relevant and could potentially be misleading.

Nutritional Intake and Training Load of Professional Female Football Players during a Mid-Season Microcycle

“…It is well accepted that intake in the magnitude of 1.2 to 2 g.kg.BW −1 is enough to meet physical requirements [ 20 ]. Although these values were determined for men, there is no reason to believe they should be different for female athletes [ 7 ]. In line with previous studies [ 13 , 40 , 43 , 47 , 48 ], we observed that the team’s protein intake met the recommendations [ 21 ].…”

“…Over the years, most of this information has been reported for male football players [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], and little is known of female football players. The physiological (e.g., hormonal milieu) and morphological (e.g., body composition) gender differences become more evident when responding to various training/competition requirements [ 7 , 8 ]. For example, in match play, females covered less distance but at higher intensity levels (maximum speed greater than 15 km.h −1 ) than male players [ 9 ], even though most of the match time was spent on low-intensity activities, such as standing, walking and jogging [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Effects of Exercise Training on the Autonomic Nervous System with a Focus on Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidants Effects

“…In recent years, many studies ha The promotion of PE in medicine and its influence on human health has led to the assimilation of the notion of "Exercise is Medicine" [202]. At the moment, a current research topic also looks at how estrogen/progestogen secretion is influenced by physical activity [203].…”

Evaluation of Eating Attitudes, Nutritional Status, and Anthropometric Measurements of Women Who Exercise: The Case of Karabük

“…Unhealthy nutrition attitudes and behaviors are quite common among women. The development of such behaviors involves a high risk for existing health conditions of slightly obese and obese individuals (Haghighat et al, 2021;Rocha-Rodrigues et al, 2021). The three most frequently studied areas of eating attitudes are uncontrolled eating, cognitive restriction, and emotional eating.…”