"One size does not fit all," said Women's Health Sciences Institute president Dr. Ioana Carabin, speaking at the Functional Foods & Women's Health symposium. The size of the potential market for value-added foods tailored to women however, does have room for growth.
Not only are women the world's largest consumer group, focusing on personal health starting in their mid-20s, but they are also the main shoppers in most households.
While there have been massive studies involving women, like the Women's Health Initiative - a 15-year project involving over 161,000 US women between 50 and 79 years of age - Carabin told NutraIngredients-USA.com that it is much more difficult for researchers to get women to participate in food industry studies.
"The government and its agencies have a much farther reach," said Carabin. However, networking is not the only thing impacting studies, the health topic counts for a lot as well.
Weight loss, for example, is a research topic that is easy to sign women up for according to Carabin, whereas an osteoporosis prevention study has little allure to 30-year-old women who may not feel effects of the condition until they are in their 50s.
Therefore Carabin says there is a need for more education on women's health. "There is a lot of information out there, but a lot of confusion too," said Carabin.
The desired end result, of course, being that more women are willing to participate in industry clinical trials.
There is a shortage of women participating in the very studies and food formulation trials that could improve this group's specific health needs, scientists said. A woman's body introduces variables into research results that cannot be discovered by studying men.
But without enough women participating in trials, initiatives to improve foods targeted at women's health face a major challenge. "It is impossible to predict and extrapolate information in studies using men that are aimed at women," said Burdock Group food toxicologist Bernadene Magnuson.
A woman's body introduces variables into research trials and results. For example, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, lactation and menopause can change the outcome of food studies specifically targeting women's needs. Women also metabolize food and drugs at different rates than men.
Since the 1990s, the National Institutes of Health has required women to be a part of studies in order for scientists to gain funding. "Now the challenge is recruiting women," said Magnuson.
The reasons US women cited for not choosing to partake in medical research are varied, according to a survey from the Society for Women's Health Research. Sixteen percent are "just not interested"; nine percent say they "didn't believe in the study"; 16 percent claim a study is "too risky"; while others cite lack of time or relevance to their lives.
To bridge these research gaps, speakers underscored the need for improving health information geared towards women. As such women will "want to listen to it", said nutritionist Susan Berkow.
"How do we send them to appropriate information like government websites instead of Glamour magazine or the New York Times?" asked Berkow, pointing to the various filters health information often goes through before it reaches the general public.
"We feel that we need to be more involved in community awareness," said Carabin of the speakers, "So that women are more aware of what information is credible and what is not."