In a quiet room at the Cary Memorial Library, the only sound was the soft click of pens. About 50 women gathered, taking diligent notes and exchanging glances with friends as speakers described familiar experiences – slowing metabolism, unpredictable swings in energy– the biological realities of midlife.
Nearly 70% of women say there is a need for more public education about women’s health, according to a 2025 AARP report.
Catherine Walter, a women’s health coach, saw this information gap firsthand during conversations with her clients, particularly those in their 40s and 50s. Many were experiencing changes in their energy, metabolism and body composition. Few of the women understood why, or knew how to respond, so Walter turned to a local Facebook group to gauge interest in public conversations about women’s health. The response was immediate and overwhelming.
“It blew up,” Walter said. “The amount of people saying they would attend, the amount of local professionals who said they would speak, it was insane. I realized, ‘Oh my God, I need to do something here.’”
In January, Walter hosted Lexington’s first community event centered on menopause. When more than 140 women attended, Walter decided a single session wasn’t enough and launched a new, ongoing Women’s Health and Wellness workshop series.
The first session, held April 15 at Cary Memorial Library, focused on nutrition and its role in hormones, energy and metabolism.
Diana Chan, a Lexington resident who also attended the January event on menopause, said the turnout was inspiring. “Just being midlife,” she said, “I think so many of us are trying to sustain ourselves and keep ourselves healthy among all these changes.”
Gina Carloni, who traveled from Belmont to attend, echoed the sentiment. “I appreciated being in a space where there were so many women, all of us hoping for the same thing, to just learn how to treat our bodies at this stage of life.”
Walter said her goal in the first workshop was to translate the latest research into practical strategies people could apply in their daily lives, such as healthy meal-preparation ideas.
“There’s a huge gap in understanding, a gap in trusted information,” Walter said. “A lot of women are feeling dismissed by health professionals and turning to social media, where there is a lot of conflicting information, and they’re left not knowing who to trust.”
That confusion was a central theme of the April 15 workshop, where Carol Sullivan, who has more than 20 years of experience in clinical nutrition, joined Walter as a speaker.
Sullivan began by stressing that many midlife changes experienced by women, such as slower metabolism or difficulty losing weight, are rooted in biology, not personal shortcomings. “This is not a failure of willpower, it is physiology,” she said.
Sullivan focused on blood sugar regulation, muscle mass and metabolism, and consistent nutrition. She explained how hormonal shifts can affect how the body processes energy, often leading to fatigue, increased hunger and changes in body composition.
After the presentation, Sullivan and Walter answered questions about how women could practically apply the information, and addressed common misconceptions stemming from popular diets, including intermittent fasting.
Sullivan said most of the research supporting intermittent fasting has been conducted on men. Women, especially during midlife, may respond differently.
“Often, women in this season of life have high demands and high stress,” she said. “Perhaps, if women were studied while on vacation, their results would be more like the men’s, but the results look very different in real, everyday life.”
Stella Zhu, a scientist with a background in nutrition and epidemiology, said she attended because the topic relates to her work.
“When it comes to menopause and especially perimenopause, there’s not a lot of research in that area, so I feel that it’s important to have and support these community events,” Zhu said.
In 1993, the Public Health Service Act mandated the inclusion of women and minorities in medical treatments. For decades before, researchers developed most treatments for men, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Conditions that primarily affect women, such as menopause and endometriosis, remain comparatively under-studied, according to UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality.
“It’s just so frustrating how little research there has been up until recently about the effects menopause and hormonal disorders can have on women’s lives,” Carloni said, “I’m very thankful for programs like this that can help spread knowledge and give us that better insight on how to live healthier.”
An AARP survey of 4,436 women found that more than a third of participants lacked crucial knowledge about menopause, including identifying symptoms and forms of treatment.
Walter said future sessions will cover topics such as strength training and menopause basics, with content guided by feedback. As the workshop concluded, attendees were asked to fill out forms about their experience and what they wanted to learn next.
“We want to build this series around you, and what you want and need the most,” Walter told the audience. The next workshop is scheduled May 19th at the Lexington Community Center.
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.