Stanford Engineering
11 April 2025
The world of women’s sports is experiencing unprecedented growth, attention, recognition, and investment. Elite athletes including Simone Biles, Caitlin Clark, Serena Williams, and many others are having a significant impact on culture, and more women than ever are participating in both professional and recreational sports. Earlier this year, Russ sat down with Dr. Emily Kraus to talk about the future of female athletic health and we’re re-running the episode today. She shared a number of key differences between women and men in sport, and illuminates that these differences are vastly understudied, though she’s working to close that gap. This is an episode we shared with a number of athletes we know, and we hope you’ll do the same. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu. Episode Reference Links: Stanford Profile: Emily Kraus Emily’s Survey: Centering The Female Athlete Voice in a Sports Science Research AgendaStanford FASTR ProgramWu Tsai Human Performance AllianceConnect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / FacebookChapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Russ Altman introduces Dr. Emily Kraus, professor of orthopedics at Stanford University. (00:01:55) Injury Trends in Female Athletes Prevalent injuries and health issues unique to female athletes. (00:03:34) Menstrual Health in Young Athletes How training affects puberty, periods, and long-term health. (00:06:30) Body Image & Mental Health Navigating body composition, stigma, and disordered eating. (00:08:30) Competing Through Motherhood Postpartum athletes and the need for more scientific support. (00:11:34) Sharing vs. Guarding Performance Data Whether female athletes are sharing information or staying competitive. (00:12:25) Fueling, Recovery & Modern Training Nutrition, rest, and strength training as key performance tools. (00:15:31) Gender-Based Nutrition Differences How under-researched female athletes are fueling without guidance. (00:18:55) The Female Athlete Voice Project What elite athletes want researched—and what’s missing. (00:21:21) FASTR & the Science of RED-S New initiatives addressing energy deficiency and performance. (00:24:05) Applying Elite Insights to All Women How weekend warriors can benefit from elite research. (00:25:11) Cultural Challenges in Sport Sexism, inequity, and overlooked institutional barriers. (00:27:03) Getting the Word Out Finding ways to educate athletes, coaches, and clinicians more effectively. (00:29:37) Conclusion Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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