Surveys of 261 Swiss coaches and 251 people in Indian sport found wide recognition that the menstrual cycle matters, but gaps in knowledge, practice and communication; only 10% of the Swiss coaches actively considered it in training planning.

Two large cohort analyses link never smoking, a body mass index in range, regular activity and diet quality, with moderate alcohol counted as low risk by the studies' own definitions, to more years free of major chronic disease: 9.9 more in men and 9.4 in women for the best versus worst lifestyle score in the European data. An association, not proof of cause.

Two meta-analyses found older adults sustained isometric tasks longer than younger adults relative to their maximum, but in dynamic contractions the advantage was lost, and when power loss was measured older adults fatigued more.

Followed from perimenopause to early postmenopause, 234 women lost lean and thigh muscle mass, and physical activity was linked to keeping more. In another study, knee-extensor strength did not differ significantly between menopausal stages.

In a 24-week randomised trial, adults with overweight or obesity lost more weight with a self-expanding hydrogel capsule than with placebo, both alongside lifestyle counselling. Energy intake itself was not reported.

Across populations, overweight and obesity are associated with higher mortality, but BMI is only a surrogate for body fat. In pooled studies, people with a normal BMI and high body fat had higher odds of cardiometabolic risk factors.

Demographers reported exceptional male longevity in Sardinia's blue zone, male and female longevity in Okinawa and a male survival advantage in Nicoya, Costa Rica, while a preprint not yet peer reviewed links remarkable-age records to fraud and error. None of these sources tests whether blue-zone habits extend an individual's life.

The first creatine trial in Alzheimer's disease was small and had no control group. Brain creatine rose, several cognitive scores and handgrip strength improved, and a 2022 review found evidence in neurodegenerative disease lacking.

Men were stronger in absolute terms, but knee-extensor strength per unit of cross-sectional area was 9.49 ± 1.34 in men and 8.92 ± 1.11 in women, not a significant difference. A recent review attributes the sex gap to greater muscle mass and type II fibre area rather than higher voluntary activation.

Return-to-play screening of professional and college athletes in 2020 found cardiac involvement after COVID-19 to be uncommon, with symptoms and abnormal basic tests predicting it. A 2021 systematic review found reported rates varied widely with study quality.

Retested after ten years, 489 adults lost maximum knee-extensor power at 0.6% a year in young men, 1.1–1.4% a year in middle age and 2.2–2.4% a year in older age. Strength falls faster than muscle mass.

A systematic review of contest-preparation case studies included 11, covering 15 ostensibly drug-free physique athletes. The evidence on how men's physique competitors are prepared, and how safely, remains very thin.

World-class weightlifters peaked at about 26 and powerlifters at about 35, a large 9-year gap. Men and women peaked at similar ages, and powerlifters improved about 12% in the five years before.

Pooled across controlled trials in under-18s, resistance training produced a large strength effect (1.12, 95% CI 0.9 to 1.3). Gains grew with maturity, with no special boost at puberty. Two consensus statements call supervised programmes relatively safe.

Pooled crossovers in women show caffeine improves strength (SMD 0.18) and muscular endurance (SMD 0.25). Sex comparisons find no aerobic difference; an anaerobic difference is uncertain.

In 27 female competitors a four-month prep cut fat mass 35–50 per cent and suppressed leptin, T3, testosterone and oestradiol; all but T3 and testosterone returned within 3–4 months. A season-long case study found force still 5–8 per cent down and rate of force development 39 per cent down at the end of recovery.

In 6,812 exercising women, each point on a 54-point menstrual symptom index raised the odds of missing or changing training (OR 1.09). Elite players reported the same. Track symptoms, not just phase.

Pooled cohorts link muscle-strengthening activity to a 10 to 17% lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes, with the benefit peaking at about 30 to 60 minutes a week in a J-shaped curve. Combined with aerobic exercise, the hazard ratio for death fell to about 0.6.

Olympians on oral contraceptives had higher CRP without changes in other inflammatory markers, and in 15,684 blood donors the pill was the strongest predictor of low-grade inflammation in premenopausal women.

Pooled across 135 studies, prenatal exercise cut the odds of a baby over 4,000 g by 39% (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.92) with no adverse neonatal signal, and exercise-only trials lowered gestational diabetes, hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Heavy loading itself has no trial behind it.