Celebrated journalist Liz Hayes has uncovered plenty of shocking truths throughout her career, but few have been as personal as the discoveries from her latest investigation. What she learned has sparked a "reckoning" for Hayes, but she hopes it will also drive a wider national conversation on the potentially deadly consequences of women's health being ignored "for decades."
Personal Investigation into Women's Health
In her first 7NEWS Spotlight investigation of the season, airing Sunday, Hayes examines how women's bodies have been misunderstood for centuries and why change is finally underway. To do so, she put her own body on the line, undergoing a series of physical and medical tests as she approached her 70th birthday today.
"I had medication testing, and a variety of explorations about exercise and nutrition, and I'm finding out things I didn't necessarily know before," Hayes said. She felt "duped" upon discovering a decades-long gender bias in health research that excluded women. "I was aghast to learn that for decades much of women's health has been based on the research of men. I was shocked by what that has meant and how far women have fallen behind," she said.
As a result, Hayes explained, the health advice for Australian women and girls has been built on incomplete and at times flawed and harmful research and information. But Hayes said she felt buoyed by the doctors, researchers, and health experts working to close the gap and explore new approaches that could help women live better, healthier, and longer lives.
Experts Leading the Change
Among them is scientist, author, and female physiology and training expert Stacy Sims, who is on a mission to dispel long-held assumptions about female nutrition and exercise and advance research into women's health. She advocates for strength training over cardio and warns against intermittent fasting.
In 2023, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council introduced measures to address gender bias, requesting that research funding applications consider both males and females. Hayes said this was an important start, but more needed to be done. "Women haven't been given the full picture," Hayes said. "But I am buoyed by the amazing efforts to remedy that — some of it life changing. And suffice to say I'm hoping it's not too late for me to make some critical changes."
Interview with Libby Trickett
Hayes also interviews Olympian and mother-of-five Libby Trickett, who recently experienced a devastating and life-changing health scare. Trickett suffered a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a form of heart attack that impacts middle-aged women and is linked to pregnancy and postpartum hormonal changes. Trickett was frustrated to discover very little research had been carried out into the condition.
"Libby has that eternal smile, and it belies this deep sadness and fear that she has about the future, because what she experienced is a very under-researched event," Hayes said. "It's grossly unfair, but there are these amazing women who are doing amazing work, and we highlight some of those women, who are really wanting to lift the roof a bit with their voices and say 'this is the result of women not being researched properly in health and that's not good enough.'"
Hayes, who has had an incredible career spanning more than four decades, will celebrate her milestone birthday today with family and friends. Watch 7NEWS Spotlight at 8pm tonight on Seven and 7plus.
