#75 - Physiology of exercise in extreme environments: sex as a biological variable with Dr Nisha Charkoudian

Dec 3, 2023

Dr Nisha Charkoudian, expert on effects of extreme environments on exercise capacity, discusses dehydration, effects of humid vs dry environments, importance of including both sexes in studies, and thermoregulation and blood pressure with aging. Very interesting chat.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

Physiological Effects of Exercise in Extreme Environments: Focus on Heat

02:30 • 9min

Hydration and Exercise

11:39 • 4min

Misconceptions of Electrolyte Supplementation

15:17 • 5min

The Importance of Considering Sex as a Biological Variable in Scientific Studies

20:00 • 22min

Biological Differences in Extreme Environments

41:57 • 10min

Impact of Heat on Athletic Performance

51:39 • 6min

Takeaway Messages on Hydration, Electrolytes, and Sex as a Biological Variable

57:28 • 3min

Dr Glenn McConell chats with Associate Professor Nisha Charkoudian from the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts, USA. She is an expert on the effects of extreme environments on exercise capacity. We talked about dehydration, electrolytes, effects of humid vs dry environments etc. We also discussed the importance of considering sex as a biological variable. This included including both sexes in studies even if underpowered to examine both. We then discussed the importance of conducting more studies on thermoregulation and blood pressure with aging. A very interesting chat.
0:00. Introduction
3:45. What is the definition of extreme environments?
5:05. Who gets the hottest/has the most issues with heat?
9:00. Effects of humid vs dry environments and hydration
12:05. Should drink until urine is clear before a race?
16:10. Should people worry about electrolytes?
20:44. Sex as a biological variable. Women not more fragile etc
23:30. Sex differences in heat acclimation
25:20. No difference in risk of heat stroke between the sexes
25:50. If no difference then just study one sex?
27:38. Need to include women even if small sample
32:34. Even if underpowered it’s ok to include both sexes
40:20. Gender vs sex, binary vs non binary etc
42:00. Women and blood flow/blood pressure/heat etc
49:05. Body surface area and heat/cold
52:01. Progesterone and body core temperature
54:25. Aging and thermogerulation
57:35. Takeaway messages
1:00:44. Outro
Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all.
The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University.
He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94305-9).
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Not medical advice