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Nutrients
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Nutrition, Lifestyle and Women’s Health
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Nutrition, Lifestyle and Women’s Health

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition in Women".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 August 2026 | Viewed by 3980

Editors

Dr. Xuewen Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Exercise Science, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Interests: women’s health; aging; metabolism; physical activity; sleep
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Małgorzata Mizgier

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sports Dietetics, Chair of Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Poznan University of Physical Education, 61-871 Poznan, Poland
Interests: diet, nutrition, and physical activity in obstetrics and gynecology; lifestyle; women's health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lifestyle profoundly influences women’s health across their natural lifespans, ranging from adolescence through the reproductive years to menopause and beyond. Nutrition and physical activity play key roles in shaping obstetric and gynecological outcomes, hormonal and metabolic balance, sexual and reproductive health, and overall well-being.

This Special Issue, entitled “Nutrition, Lifestyle and Women’s Health”, will advance integrative and personalized perspectives on how lifestyle factors interact with women’s physiology. We particularly welcome contributions that explore the multidimensional interconnections among metabolic, inflammatory, endocrine, and neurobehavioral systems in response to nutrition and physical activity.

This Special Issue invites original research articles, reviews, and meta-analyses covering, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Nutrition and physical activity in menstrual health, pregnancy, menopause, and aging;
  • Mechanistic studies linking lifestyle, metabolism, and hormonal regulation (e.g., in dysmenorrhea, PCOS, or metabolic syndrome);
  • Sex-specific experimental designs accounting for menstrual cycle phase and hormonal contraceptive use;
  • Integrative behavioral science and feasibility-focused interventions for promoting sustainable health behaviors;
  • Translational and interdisciplinary research bridging basic science, clinical application, and public health policy;
  • Studies addressing sexual and reproductive health as integrative outcomes of lifestyle, hormonal, and metabolic regulation.

By emphasizing integration, personalization, and feasibility, this Special Issue will foster precision lifestyle medicine for women’s health, promoting evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes across the lifespan.

Dr. Xuewen Wang
Dr. Małgorzata Mizgier
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • women’s health
  • adolescent health
  • adolescence
  • nutrition
  • physical activity
  • hormonal health
  • metabolism
  • inflammation
  • gynecology
  • obstetrics
  • sexual health
  • personalized lifestyle medicine
  • precision health

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 274 KB  
Article
An Equity Audit of a Statewide Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction Pilot Programme for Women with a History of Gestational Diabetes
by Yuqi Dou, Jacqueline A. Boyle, Jenna Van Der Velden, Jane Kwon, Carli Leishman, Elizabeth Holmes-Truscott, Kimberley L. Way, Timothy Skinner, Craig Pickett, Bei Bei and Siew Lim
Nutrients 2026, 18(3), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18030489 - 2 Feb 2026
Viewed by 902
Abstract
Background: This equity audit assessed enrolment and completion of a state-funded cardiometabolic risk-reduction programme for women with prior gestational diabetes in Victoria, Australia. The analyses compared completion rates between the standard prevention programme Life! with one specifically adapted for women with prior gestational [...] Read more.
Background: This equity audit assessed enrolment and completion of a state-funded cardiometabolic risk-reduction programme for women with prior gestational diabetes in Victoria, Australia. The analyses compared completion rates between the standard prevention programme Life! with one specifically adapted for women with prior gestational diabetes (Life! GDM) using the PROGRESS equity framework. Methods: Women with a history of GDM in the Life! GDM or the mainstream Life! programme in 2022–2025 were included. Multinomial logistic regression was used to impute categorical variables, logistic regression for binary variables, and linear regression for continuous variables. Estimates were combined across imputed datasets using Rubin’s rules. Results: A total of 2261 women were included: 370 in Life! GDM, and 1891 in Life! from 2022 to 2025, with completion rates of 36.7% and 52.2%, respectively. Compared with women in Life!, women in Life! GDM were more likely to come from non-English-speaking backgrounds, particularly South and Central Asian (30.5% vs. 17.0%) and South-East Asian backgrounds (13.0% vs. 4.3%). After multiple imputation, multivariable logistic regression showed that none of the examined participant characteristics were significantly associated with programme completion in Life! GDM. In the Life! cohort, completion was significantly associated with marital status, with single participants having lower odds of completion (OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.41–0.85), and with referral channel, with self-referral associated with higher odds of completion (OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.39–2.12). Conclusions: The adapted programme appeared to have reached more culturally and linguistically diverse women; however, lower completion among those experiencing disadvantage highlights the need for enhanced support and retention strategies to ensure equitable postpartum diabetes prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Lifestyle and Women’s Health)

Review

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17 pages, 1394 KB  
Review
Dietary Caffeine, Cold Exposure, and the Estrogen–TRPM8 Axis: A Nutri-Environmental Model for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in the Menopause Transition: A Narrative Review
by Dong Hee Lee and Jeong Jun Park
Nutrients 2026, 18(5), 825; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18050825 - 3 Mar 2026
Viewed by 984
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs), particularly nocturia and urgency, often intensify during the menopause transition and may worsen with caffeine intake and cold exposure. This review aims to synthesize evidence relevant to a hypothesized caffeine–cold interaction in transitional menopause, focusing on [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs), particularly nocturia and urgency, often intensify during the menopause transition and may worsen with caffeine intake and cold exposure. This review aims to synthesize evidence relevant to a hypothesized caffeine–cold interaction in transitional menopause, focusing on water homeostasis and the estrogen–transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) cold-sensory axis, and to propose potentially actionable, nutrition-centered intervention candidates for future testing. Methods: Structured narrative review of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and citation tracking (inception–January 2026). Evidence was mapped into a mechanistic framework distinguishing established from hypothesis-generating links; no formal systematic-review study selection or meta-analysis was performed. Results: Caffeine can increase urine output via renal mechanisms (adenosine receptor antagonism and natriuresis) and may lower bladder sensory thresholds. Because half-life is long and variable, afternoon intake can extend into sleep, potentially increasing awakenings and nocturnal voids. Human studies link colder indoor environments to nocturia/overactive bladder, and passive pre-bedtime heating is associated with fewer nocturnal voids. We propose that repeated nighttime cold may amplify caffeine-related diuresis and may shift urine production toward the night, while estradiol decline may heighten TRPM8-mediated cold sensory gain, potentially contributing to urgency/frequency flares. A testable 2 × 2 cold × caffeine framework can operationalize dose, timing, and metabolism, pairing voiding diaries and bedroom temperature sensing with copeptin profiling. Conclusions: Transitional menopause may represent a susceptibility window in which endocrine instability and estradiol decline could plausibly increase sensitivity to indoor cold exposure and caffeine intake, potentially contributing to nocturia and urgency. The hypothesis label ‘dual hormone suppression’ (attenuated nocturnal AVP signal plus estradiol decline) may provide a mechanistic substrate for cold-exacerbated nocturnal polyuria, while an estrogen–TRPM8 axis may amplify cold-evoked urgency. Potentially actionable candidates include chronobiological caffeine timing/management and low-burden thermal strategies; nevertheless, menopause-stage-specific epidemiologic and clinical evidence for a caffeine × cold interaction remains limited and several mechanistic links are extrapolated, so prospective diary- and biomarker-enabled studies and controlled trials are needed to validate mechanisms and refine cold-sensitive endotypes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Lifestyle and Women’s Health)
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12 pages, 608 KB  
Review
Fasting and Nutrition as Promising Treatment Strategies for Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Transitional Hormonal Stages
by Bérénice Hansen, Evdokia Alvanou, Maria Angeliki S. Pavlou, Paul Wilmes and Jochen G. Schneider
Nutrients 2026, 18(4), 580; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18040580 - 10 Feb 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1554
Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic and chronic autoimmune disease affecting about 1% of the global population, with a higher prevalence in women. Its treatment has been improved greatly over the past 30 years but there is no definitive cure available, and another [...] Read more.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic and chronic autoimmune disease affecting about 1% of the global population, with a higher prevalence in women. Its treatment has been improved greatly over the past 30 years but there is no definitive cure available, and another unmet need exists for transitional hormonal stages such as pregnancy or menopause, which spurs the need to research new therapy options. In recent years, dietary interventions, particularly fasting and plant-based nutrition, have gained attention for their potential to alleviate RA symptoms. Fasting has been shown to reduce systemic inflammation, promote autophagy, and modulate immune cell activity, possibly leading to decreased joint pain and swelling. Nutritional strategies, such as anti-inflammatory and plant-based diets, have been shown to impact the gut microbiome and potentially support weight management, improve metabolic health, and reduce oxidative stress, all of which might contribute to better RA disease outcomes. Although the precise mechanisms remain under investigation, these approaches offer promising complementary strategies for enhancing RA management and improving patients’ quality of life. This review explores the preventive and therapeutic potential of fasting and nutrition in RA, and their possible application in the context of hormonal fluctuations and transitional stages during a women’s life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition, Lifestyle and Women’s Health)
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