Sex-specific effects of diet and physical activity on health outcomes in older adults

This review summarizes the current literature around sex-based differences in adaptations to diet and exercise in older adults. This review is timely as there is continued debate around the necessity of sex-based interventions across the lifespan.

Evidence shows that exercise does not appear to confer many sex-based differences in adaptation to either muscle strengthening, or cardiovascular types of exercise, especially when these changes are reported in relative (percentage) terms.There appear to be some differences in response to dietary exposures between sexes. However, the extent of sex differences is still largely unclear due to many studies not reporting or analysing data by sex.

Implications for clinical practice are that there is currently insufficient evidence for exercise-related changes in muscle strengthening or cardiovascular outcomes being significantly affected by sex in older adults. There are some sex-based differences in response to dietary factors, however, the mechanisms remain unclear. At present, individualized lifestyle prescriptions taking into consideration health conditions, risk factors, client history and goals appear to be logical over a blanket sex-based approach.