Woman's Hour - 02/01/2026

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Hello, this is Kylie Pentelow, and you're listening to The Woman's Hour podcast. Hello and welcome to the programme and a happy new year to you. Thank you very much for your company. Today, as 2026 begins, and many people think about their health and fitness, we'll be looking at a condition that used to only affect athletes, but is now impacting some women who exercise regularly, particularly runners. It's called relative energy deficiency in sport, and we'll be finding out what it is and how to avoid it.

Also, it's that time of year when prospective students get their uni applications in. But as students decide where they're going, new figures show many more are choosing universities that are closer to home. So they don't have the expense of paying for accommodation. What does this mean for that traditional university experience of socialising and freedom from parents? We'll be talking to two students about that. So we'd like to know what you think about this. Would your university experience have been different if you'd stayed at home? What did being away from your parents teach you?

Or maybe you're a parent and your child is living with you right now while they're studying. Let us know what that's like. You can text the programme. The number is 84844. On social media, we're at BBC Woman's Hour and you can email us through our website. Or you can send us a WhatsApp message or a voice note, the number for that. is 0-3-700-100-444. But first, a new report out from UNICEF has revealed some devastating figures

on the prevalence of sexual violence against children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nationwide data indicates that more than 35,000 cases of sexual violence against children were recorded from January to September of 2025. Now, it's understood that the true number is likely to be higher than these figures with the crime being underreported due to fear and stigma. Well, to tell us more about this report, I'm joined now by UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection, Ramatou Toure. And I just need to say that there may, of course, be information in this interview

that some people might find distressing. Good morning to you, Ramatou, and welcome to Women's Hour. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. Can you tell us, firstly, about this report and just what's happening in the DRC? Thank you so much. So this report is the first time where we've been able to put together the data on sexual violence against children. What we have been seeing is that sexual violence against children existed before, but now not only does it continue, but it's actually exaggerating. Now we are reaching levels that we have not seen, and what we're seeing, we're also seeing the proportion of girls being overwhelmingly represented.

What we're seeing is like as the conflict progress, as the situation progress, more and more girls are subjected to sexual violence even compared to three years ago, four years ago. Can you just take me through those numbers? I mentioned one statistic there, but can you just take me through how much these numbers have increased? What we've seen, like for example, last year, 2024 alone, there were 45,000 cases of sexual violence against children. and maybe three years ago, those were maybe half of those numbers. So what we're seeing is that we are seeing numbers that are multiplied by three in the past five years, which is something that is completely horrifying.

Of course, I understand the situation is very complex in the DRC. Can you summarise for our listeners what is happening there? What is happening is we're having a country. where basically 20, 25% of the territory is subject to armed conflict. It's a conflict that's been on for decades, 30 years, more than 30 years. And then this is one of the drivers of what's happening in terms of sexual violence, because we know that sexual violence, unfortunately, as in many countries in the world, but in the DRC, is endemic.

It happens both in the conflict part of the country, but also in the non-conflict part. So if you mix conflict plus poverty, plus insecurity, then this makes a cocktail, I would say, a cocktail that is extremely dangerous and unsafe for children. And as you know, girls and children and girls in particular are the most vulnerable. And you add also displacement. So there's this combination of different factors that make it a very unsafe place for children and for girls in particular. Tell us more then about who is being mostly affected by this.

And maybe what different areas they might live in or what backgrounds they're from? So what we've been seeing is, first of all, in terms of sexual violence, women and girls are the most affected. 95% are women and girls. We're also seeing boys, but in a fewer proportion, and it's underreported. But what we're seeing, so women and girls, among this category, girls age 12 to 17,

represent almost half of the cases. We've also seen cases with girls younger than 12, unfortunately, and they're also growing, but basically girls between 10 and 17. And this irrespective where they are, we have, as I mentioned, girls living in conflict of affected provinces, and they are subject to conflict, and we have sexual violence used at the weapon of war. But we've also have girls living in cities like in Kinshasa that are also affected, as well as girls living on the countryside,

going to the field, work, and they're also affected. So what we're seeing is the environment is extremely unsafe for girls wherever they are in the country. And this needs to ring an alarm to all of us. So truly widespread. What are people reporting to UNICEF has been happening? So people are reporting that they are being attacked when they go to school.

They are being attacked when they go to fetch. water in the forest. They are being attacked, obviously, when conflict and fighting erupts in a city. They are also being attacked in their own homes by community members, by family members. So it's extremely devastating, but it also means, but what we've also been reporting to us is that girls find the ways, they are very resilient. So they find ways to try to mitigate and try. They are finding, for example, some girls go and fetch collect water together

or they're trying to have a big brother accompany them. So girls, they don't have a choice, but to find ways where basically they would not be subjected to sexual violence. Obviously, this is not enough. So from what you're saying then, it would be hard to pinpoint a specific section who are the perpetrators then because it sounds like it is happening in all different areas and all different communities.

Yes, it is happening in different areas and communities, but the report tells us still that half of the cases are happening in the conflict-affected areas. And on those areas, armed actors, armed men, are the predominantly category of perpetrators. So there is a link with conflict. There is also a link with violence. So when you have a gun, basically you are more prone to commit sexual violence.

This is what the girls tell us. Is there any justice for children and young people who this is happening to? Well, justice is one of the challenges. Like in any country in the world, I think it's very difficult for survivors of sexual violence to find justice. But there is, but that's also the justice system needs support, meaning that very few cases, actually. Very few perpetrators are brought to justice. In that sense, when it's in the conflict-affected provinces, there is a sense with the military forces where they are brought to justice if the facts are known.

But in general, I would say for the average man, there is very, or for the average survival, there's very little chance that the perpetrators is brought to justice. And this for several reasons. The first reason, the fear of speaking out, it's very difficult for survivors, even more for children, can you imagine maybe a 10-year-old girl, to come forward, to tell a family what has happened, and then for the family to be able to go to the police, and then for the complaint to be recorded, and then to go to the justice system, and then for a judgment to be made. That's a very long and very difficult journey.

So what are the consequences then for the girls that are experiencing this, that they've gone through this terribly traumatic experience and the implications, I guess, physically and mentally of this sexual violence? Yes, the consequences are twofold. You have immediate consequences, medical consequences, obviously your health, in physical health. you also, there is also an idiot risk of being subject to HIV and AIDS or other STIs. But then you also have the mental consequences.

And those are maybe the one that lasts longer. Those are fear, obviously, but also a sense of depression. And then those are, and victimhood, obviously. And those, again, the medical consequences, I mean, the fear. physical one and the psychology one can be treated and this is what we are doing and it's possible to hear. But it means that the children and sometimes their families need to have the support they need on time. You know that if you're a victim of rape, for example, you need to be able to get the post-rep keep 72 hours after the act happened because if not it's complicated. But then

the mental consequences can last for years. And this is why the implications are extremely serious and also means a lot of the girls, unfortunately, also become pregnant out of the sexual violence. So you can also imagine the consequences if you're not here on your children. So then it's a cycle that actually perpetuates. So from your point of view then, what interventions can be put in place to protect these children from this happening? There are a series of intervention that can be put in place, but to be clear, I would say there are three things that we can do and that we are doing.

The first one is prevention. We need to educate the communities. We need to equip the communities with the means to be able to alert and to protect themselves. The second one is, and when we're doing that, we're also working with men. We are also working with the broad community to value the girls, to make sure that the girls can go to school, et cetera. That's one. Then there is the response.

And this is where basically we need and DRC need support to make sure that when children and girls in particular are subjected to sexual violence, they get the care they need. And the third one, the last one, is we need to fight against impunity. The perpetrators of those crimes need to be brought to justice. They need to be held accountable. Very briefly, Ramatou, can I just ask you what it's like for you? Because it must be very difficult to be in the situation where you know this is happening, but maybe can't do what you want to to help.

It's very difficult. And I'm a mother and I have two girls, including one adolescent girl. So this topic resonates deeply from my heart. But what is for me that I can see now that our intervention brings change. I've been in contact with countless girls who are now resilient. So it's both a feeling of we need to do more, but also a feeling of, I would say, rest when I feel that we've been able still to help children. In the last year alone, with UNICEF, we've helped more than 24,000 children.

So that's also a feeling when I say at least those 24,000 children receive the assistant that they need it. Ramatou, it's been lovely to speak to you this morning and thank you for bringing this to our attention. That's Ramatou Toray there, who is UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection. Now, just to let you know that we, of course, have the Woman's Hour Guide to Life. Have you had a listen to it yet?

Well, this week we've been giving you a bit of a taster of the full series, which is available to listen to now only on BBC Sounds. It's your toolkit, if you like, for the juggle, the struggle and everything in between. Well, our first episode tackled the topic of friendship. Something journalist Claire Cohen knows a thing or two about her. She's written a book about it called BFF, The Truth About Female Friendship. But as she told Nula, she's been struggling to give her friendships the time and the attention they deserve.

There are all these points in your life in the playground when you start university, when friends start settling down, move away for big jobs, that you have kind of stretches in your friendships. and now I really find myself going through one of them because I recently had a baby and boy does that throw a grenade into your friendships I thought I would be prepared for it as a so-called expert and I just really wasn't at all. What's the trickiest thing?

I think that you're in limbo so you're kind of stuck slightly between two friendship camps because you've got all your old friends who really deeply know your identity and who were there before you became a mother and you need that because you're struggling to find scraps of your old self when you've had a baby. And then you've also got a new group of friends who, if you've perhaps done an antinatal class, as I did. And I've been very lucky. They're a really great group of women.

But they only know the new me. They only know me as a mum. And the things we discuss are very much often confined to that set of circumstances. So I'm in this slightly strange kind of caught between two worlds where I'm seeing a lot of the new women. but not very much of the old ones, and I really need that in my life. Why are you not seeing them, do you think? And I'd be curious for your time management dilemmas as well. I really need some time management advice.

Look, I am seeing them a bit, but it's fair to say that a lot of the friendships are currently on WhatsApp or on message, and it is a bit unsatisfactory. I think part of it, part of it is my lack of time management and kind of finding my way through this new world and I'm back at work. And, you know, it is difficult. You know, friendships are often the first thing to fall off the priority list when life gets really busy. So partly that. But I also think on the flip side, there is a little bit of your friends trying to be compassionate and thinking, gosh, she's under so much pressure right now. She's got a baby.

She hasn't got as much time for us right now. And they understand that. And let's give her a bit of elastic. And it's coming from a really good place. But you're on the other side going, no, no, please invite me. me to things. Please don't forget me. And it kind of brings up a few of those feelings you maybe had in the playground of feeling excluded and feeling left out, feeling rejected. And it feels really pathetic to be back in that place as a grown woman. But you kind of do find yourself

there a bit. Do you feel you've deprioritized yourself at times and your friendships in the busyness of life? Yes, I do think it's easy to take it for granted, to get lulled into a full sense of security, to create those narratives in your head that, you know, your friends are mad at you and to just get really, really get lost in it and not be able to see it clearly. And maybe part of that is because the kind of priority we put on romantic relationships and how we don't really have the same rule books and milestones for our friendships. And I think it's really easy to just let it, it becomes too messy in your head, it becomes too confusing.

And so then it's just easier to let it drop and not give it as much attention as it deserves. and as you know would benefit you. So that's the dilemma. And maybe you identify with what Claire had to say there about not having the time and energy she'd like to be able to bring to her female friendships, I certainly do. We put it to the expert, psychotherapist, author and host

of the therapy podcast, Julia Samuel, and Dr. Marissa G. Franco, a psychologist and author of the book, Plotonic. And they have plenty of advice to share. So here's a bit of a taster, starting with one of Julia's best tips, to invite our friends into the more mundane aspects of our life. I think one of them is to hack doing what you have to do,

like going to the shops or taking your baby out to, you know, play and do something, doing it with someone so that you have company and you can talk to each other while you're doing other things or go to the gym with someone. So pre-existing tasks, do them with someone. And I think the more you do it that it's regular, so you don't have to have 50 texts. It's like Monday, I do my Monday shop, so why don't you do it with me every Monday?

And if they can't do it, they can't do it. But to have it in the diary, my feeling is that our emotion, our capacity to love and have broad friendship groups is infinite, but that our time is finite. But if we really care about those relationships, we need to prioritize them and make that a conscious decision. You see posters, I never regret to swim or I never regret to swim or I never regret to. to run. I think it's the same. I never regret a meeting with a friend. You feel more stimulated, you feel more alive. And in some ways, I think you feel more yourself. If you have really close friends and you want that like hanging around, do nothing time, is that you can even pick one day a year, you know, a Saturday a year where you meet that friend and you can hang out

and be teenagers again or you can go for a walk together. But you commit that day, you know, the first week in January or whatever you decide every year and that's in, because I think all the barriers are the organising. And if you know that four of you are going to meet every year a particular day in January, then that's a really nice thing to look forward to. And again, you keep that in mind and that keeps the friendship kind of kind of kind of kind of kind of kind of kind of kind of. Is it enough? Because I'm just thinking they won't know when you're having a down day or an up day during the year, will they? No, no, I don't think it's enough, but it's that one that's a really big one.

And then the voice notes, the little messages. I had a call with my best friend this morning who haven't spoken to a few weeks. Her dog was ill. We only spoke for 10 minutes on the phone. She'd been to the vet. But that was enough. I could be her friend when her dog was ill. And I won't need to speak to her again.

But we, you know, having proper time together isn't all the time. What I think I'm hearing is about like letting the messiness of life enter the friendships. Yeah, I think when you're in a time of busyness, and this is true of the research on long-distance connections, those connections are kept alive when you think about them as flexible and not fragile. And so what that means is if you haven't talked for a while, you're not assuming this friendship is over, this person's really mad at me, I cannot reach out to restart and rekindle this connection. But rather, okay, this connection was sleepy. I can wake it up by reaching out at any time. Otherwise, we get in this sort of reinforcing spiral where we're backing away from a

relationship where the other person still wants us to come close. That's basic trust, isn't it? That if you have basic trust, that you both kind of care enough about each other, there's so many ruptures, distance between time, and kind of being messy and being human, that you can allow, that you know, and that's the kind of good enough aspect of having basic trust and love in a friendship. I would want you to recognize that friendships are really important for our. our whole life. So begin to really prioritize them, not as a maybe, but as a necessity. And if you

really have that in the front of your mind, that friendships are a necessity, we know how to prioritize. We know how to make our time important to us and what we choose to do with that time. Trust that you're more light than you think you are. And take a risk. Like send some texts, be in touch with people who haven't been in touch with you that you want to see and update the story you're telling yourself about yourself and the other, be confident that you will actually have a really good time. That was Julia Samuel and Dr. Marissa G. Franco, joining Neula to share their best advice on how to nurture our friendships

amongst the busyness of life. There are plenty more tips where that came from. We've put together a whole toolkit for you in the friendship episode of the Woman's Hour Guide to Life. To find it in the rest of the series, you can just search for Woman's Hour Guide to Life online, or go to the BBC Sounds app, search for Women's Hour, and click on the cruise.

Guide to LifeLink at the top of our regular podcast feed. We've been asking for your comments because we're going to be talking about living at home whilst you're going to university. It's after UCAS figures have revealed that more students are doing it. Lots of you have been getting in touch on this. I'm just going to read this one here. This comment says it was life-changing for me to go away to university, not a commutable distance from my parents' house. I'm an Asian woman, the daughter of two doctors from a very small Midland town. No brothers and my sister and I were sent to an all-girls school.

Hardly any social life and never allowed to go to discos or parties or gigs, etc. Going to university provided me not only with the opportunity to study but to socialise, get a boyfriend, stay out all night, laugh a lot, go to gigs, basically do a lot of things that others did in their teens and to experience living in a shared space with people of different backgrounds.

It served to make me who I am now 42. years later. Really interesting comment there. Thanks so much for getting in touch. Do keep your comments coming in on that. And as I say, we'll be talking about it a little later in the programme. The number, as always, is 84844. Now, as New Year begins, you might be thinking about getting more exercise into your life.

If so, this is something that might interest you. Relative energy deficiency in sport, or Red S, as it's known, was once framed as a concern only for elite athletes. But as running culture intensifies alongside weight loss jabs and healthy eating trends, Red S has become more widespread. It's often hard to spot, but the long-term consequences can be devastating, impacting immune function, growth and fertility. We're leading sports dietitian Rini McGregor and Jodie Pallman, who experienced the condition firsthand. Join me now. Morning to you both and welcome to Women's Hour. Hi, thanks for having me.

Rini, can we start with you? Let's start with the basics, shall we? Can you explain, I hadn't heard of this. So maybe many of our listeners haven't either. Can you explain exactly what Red S is? Yes, of course, Kylie. So Reds or Reds, as we say, is relative energy deficiency in sport. Although I think really the terminology is just relative energy deficiency.

And so it says what it is on the tin, which is basically there's not enough energy in the body to support both kind of movement. and that movement can be every sort of all movement we do, but obviously things like exercise and training as well, as well as biological function, which is, you know, the energy we need to be human, basically for our brain, for our hearts, for our lungs, for our bone density, for our fertility.

Like we need a lot of energy just to be human. And what often happens is that energy is always prioritised for movement. And so if we don't quite give our bodies enough energy, then we end up, the energy that we do have is used for movement. And a bit like when your phone is on sort of low battery mode, our body starts to shut down. So it's not an instant thing. It's not something that happens immediately,

but it is something that happens over a course of time. And the longer you're in this kind of deficit, the more your body starts to downregulate and protect and preserve you because that's what it's trying to do fundamentally. is keep you alive. But one of the things that I want to kind of just clarify is that we often talk about this condition with only thinking about the kind of energy aspect

in terms of the fueling. But actually we also know now that it also includes not resting enough. And I guess that's something that's quite important and probably why we're seeing it more and more in the recreational individual as well because, you know, those of us that are recreational, we are also, you know, have families,

we have lives, we have jobs, and sometimes we're trying to train like an athlete and also do all those other things. And we may over-train to a certain degree in the sense we just don't give our bodies enough rest. So actually what we've come to know is that Reds is more than just an energy. It's actually about the overall stress that we place on our bodies and it's the body's way of trying to protect itself. And you've said that you're seeing up to 10 new cases a week. Yeah, I mean, we're getting a lot of, a lot of inquiries about, about Red S and, you know, the symptoms that can occur vary so much.

And I think that's the other thing is that Red S itself is, it's a presentation. So it is a condition, but it is a presentation. And the presentation can be, you know, it can be that an individual is presenting with recurrent injuries and niggles and particularly like bones. stress injuries or connective tissue injuries and it's just a recurrent thing that they're not recovering from it can be more complicated in that if it starts to affect the endocrine system then of course both men and women can be affected from a fertility point of view but we often see it in women much earlier because the female body is so sensitive to any any sort of stress or any sort of threat to the endocrine function so what might show up is changes in menstrual cycle, in the cycle length can get shorter, flow can get lighter, and also in the

worst case, it stops completely. And of course, these things should not be ignored. And other symptoms can also be non-sort of physical. You can also start to notice things like changes to your sleep, changes to your mood. And in the worst case, it can be much more widespread in that you can have issues with your with your nerves with your with your cardiac function so it's it's a really complicated condition and we're still learning so much more about it jodi can i bring you in here so you experience red earth can you take us back to when you first realize that there might be something wrong yeah so i think the first sign for me was around my menstrual cycle um so it was kind of when i went to university and my periods kind of gradually stopped

I think at the time I was probably I've always done exercise kind of throughout my whole life but I think I probably did slightly more at uni I also kind of you get into sort of cooking for yourself kind of just a change in routine

and yeah so my kind of loss of periods was the first sign for me and what happened did you go to seek help from a GP I did so I I've kind of lost track of who I saw when but kind of I initially went to a GP and they I think probably throughout the kind of

four or five years I had symptoms I saw kind of a couple of different GPs and specialist gynaecologists and kind of the result was always kind of go on the pill, the contraceptive pill. They initially ruled out anything serious. So I did have checks and scans to make sure there was nothing else going on. But kind of following that, they didn't find anything and they prescribed the pill.

As their advice was kind of you need to have periods, we can't really see another issue. The pill will make you have periods. And what then happened because he started to get more severe symptoms, didn't you? So I think during that kind of four or five years, I, with hindsight, I think I did have other symptoms. At the time, I didn't really notice anything else. So kind of at that time, I'd say it was quite constant in what I experienced. And I think the, I wasn't, I think I wasn't technically underweight. And I think that's important. in thinking about kind of GP doctor response in that we can't see kind of an eating sport issue

go on the pill and so I think it was only kind of after those four or five years I could kind of looked into it more and kind of then got some other specialist help that could help me identify kind of the root cause but it was only kind of later on when actually I managed get my periods back where I got a couple of stress fractures from running and I found out my bone density was quite low. So I guess, yeah, kind of I did have other things going on that I was kind of completely unaware about during that period of time. Rina, can you just reflect on that? Is that something that you are hearing to from patients that they may be misdiagnosed and also So the longer term impacts that you can have from Reddust?

Yeah, no, I mean, it is a real problem. I think, as Joe said, one of the biggest issues is you don't actually lose weight with Reddance. So even though there's this kind of energy deficiency, because the body is in down regulation mode, you know, you don't lose weight. So your body's actually preserving energy. It's trying to protect you. And I think, you know, we do live in a very crazy societal. era where the focus is on image and fitness and health, which are all important, it's got not the image side, but the fitness and health side of things. But I think it's taken to an

absolute extreme level. And actually, we're not looking at what does health actually mean and what level of fitness do we actually need to have. And so I think when you go and see a doctor and you don't look on well, and that's one of the key things about Red S is you don't ever look on well, unless, of course, Red S is associated with an eating disorder. and that's kind of a slightly different presentation. But in general, people who are participating in physical activity at quite a high level and end up with Red S, they will not physically look that different. However, their performances, their body, everything else will start to become impacted.

And the consequences, as Jodi has said, is, you know, they are really problematic. The bone health is one of the key things. Like we've said, you know, your menstrual cycle and your endocrine function generally, So this is the same for men as well, is that if you don't produce your sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone, it starts to have a negative effect on your bone health. And that's quite early on. That's within three months. And so the longer this goes on, the more detrimental impact it's having on your bone health.

And I do get very frustrated. We get a lot of people, not young people, to get a lot of people coming into clinic who have been told, okay, yep, there's nothing wrong with you. We've done all the gynecological tests. we're just going to put you on the pill. And the pill just seems to be this kind of very easy answer, especially if you don't want a child right now, let's just put you on the pill. And all the pill does is disguise what's really going on. And actually, it's not the appropriate action for somebody who has Red S. It's not the appropriate action for somebody who has lost their menstrual cycle, because if you think about what the pill is,

it's a contraception. So actually, it suppresses ovulation. It's never going to reboot your menstrual cycle, which is what is often suggested. And we also know now that the synthetic component of estrogen in the contraceptive pill is not protective of bone health. So one of the key things that doctors kind of tend to say is, if we put you on the pill, we're going to protect your bone health. But actually, you're not protecting bone health. And the gold standard now is actually using hormone replacement therapy. So even if someone is not in those perimenopausal or menopausal years, if they're young, they've shown that their bone health has been affected by red S. they are not having a menstrual cycle while we're working with them to try and restore their

energy availability, restore their hormonal health, if we know they've already presented with one stress fracture as well, and we're quite far off because, again, there's a lot of mindset involved in why you're doing what you're doing. There's a lot of behaviours that kind of keep you stuck in where you're at. And so it takes time. In those situations, we would actually be, you know, asking the GP to put the individual on hormone replacement therapy for a short period of time. Well, just to say that we contacted NHS England and they've sent us this statement from Professor Victoria Sautzu Brown, who is the chair of the Royal College of GP, saying GPs are highly trained to have sensitive conversations with our parents, taking into

account all our patients, sorry, taking into account all factors that could be affecting their health in order to arrive at the right diagnosis. They're going to say the RCGP recognises that Redis is a serious condition that can have significant impact on patients' health and the knowledge and skills related to Reddust fall under several specific topics within the GP curriculum frameworks. That's their comment there. Jodi, just from you, I just wonder if there's anyone listening who is concerned about this and maybe recognising some of those symptoms. What would you say to them?

I would say definitely don't wait. I think I, at the time, I thought I actually felt fine. And that's why I think I kind of just got on with it and dismissed it for so long. I think try and tune in I think kind of stress fractures

can happen really late down the line and I think even kind of disruptions your menstrual cycle can be slightly delayed so for me now it really helps to kind of

tune into the symptoms I get quite immediately if I think I've had even like a couple of days of not eating enough which can be anything from kind of fatigue night time hunger is really common

kind of changes to digestion so I think tuning into those symptoms are really important and I think we also have to be aware of the fact that like we know hormonal contraception and being on the pill doesn't help and it can make it really tricky because it masks what's going on with your mental cycle but I think it's also the reality that a lot of people are on hormonal contraception so I think especially kind of tuning into those

other symptoms is really important. Rini, just, while I've got you here, I just want to reference something that our listeners might have seen on the BBC website today about the use of electrolytes. For those who don't know, minerals like sodium, potassium,

magnesium that help regulate nerves, muscles and fluid balance in the body. And it quotes a professor who says that many people are spending money on them and they don't need to. What's your advice, briefly, if you can, and what's your view on electrolytes? Yeah, I mean, I think it's very independent and very kind of individual in the sense of if we were in a heat wave right now, which of course we're not, and you were training for several hours outside on a bike or even on doing a run or, you know, whatever you're playing football even, there is a potential benefit to using electrolyte in that particular situation because we know that electrolytes help to draw liquid back into the muscles and help to keep you hydrated.

and also replace those sodium losses. Although, to be fair, as long as you're fueling well around your training, you can replace most of your mineral losses without needing an electrolyte. I think the problem is that suddenly electrolytes are popping up everywhere with lots of celebrities and influencers promoting their own products, saying you need it for optimal brain health, you need it for optimal concentration. And that is not true. You do not need to be popping an electrolyte daily in order to be,

to be to be optimal. Like, you know, if you eat a well-balanced meal, a well-balanced diet and you're looking after yourself and you are drinking, and it is hard to drink water and liquid during the cooler months. But even if you're having, you know, plenty of hot drinks, you're still going to probably have enough energy and get all the minerals that you need. So it'd only been particular scenarios that I would recommend an electrolyte, not all the time. Okay, Rini, thank you very much.

That's Rini McGregor. and Jodie Palmer. And just to say, if you have been impacted by any of this discussion, you can visit the BBC Action Line or, of course, contact your local GP for further support. Now, I've been asking about your university experience, whether you went away and lived in halls or with other students or whether you stayed at home. It's because there is an increase that we're going to hear about shortly

about the number of students who are choosing to stay at home. We've had plenty of comments about this. So this one here says our son is at a local uni. after taking two years after leaving school to decide what to do next. During that time, he worked as a binman, a labourer and a kid's sports coach and used the money to travel in the Far East. Now, although living at home, he has the work ethic, independence and sense of a venture gain during his years off and has an active social life with both uni and local friends.

It's definitely the right choice for him, they say. Thank you very much for your comments as always and do keep them coming in. 84844. Just before we have that discussion about students staying at home, just time to tell you about yesterday's programme where Nula celebrated 75 years of the Archers and some of its wonderful female characters. One of the places she visited was a very hallowed spot in Ambridge, the kitchen at Brookfield. The original Archer's family farm, of course, where she caught up with Ruth Archer, played by Felicity Finch. Shunula asked her how she felt to have lived to work and acted in such an iconic place for decades. That's my kitchen.

It's my home. It's where I've played out so many scenes with the members of my family, you know, my other family. And it also holds in its walls the history as well. The years gone by. Describe what we're looking at. It's quite an intimate space. Compared to the rest of the studio, it's got wood panels around it as well as all the kitchen equipment in it, etc. And a table at the centre of it.

Let's go and have a look. Well, we've got a fridge here and we've got the sink and running water and a teapot and a kettle. Yeah, yeah. Tea, they're all important cups of tea. But over the other side is the agger. Now, this is a central piece. It absolutely is. I'd say this is the piece of the kitchen that is at the half.

of everything, of what it means to be in the Brookfield kitchen. It comes into its own at Christmas time. Of course. Because we're trying to make a million dishes like if it else, you know, in different parts of the kitchen. And somebody might have brought something in from somewhere else and it'll be warmed in there. But looking at the auger, it is kind of making me hungry.

Well, it just happens, Nula, that I've baked a carrot cake, especially for you coming today. I mean, I love carrot cake, but I'll be honest. I kind of expected lemon drizzle. No, no, no, no, no, that's Jill my mother-in-law's territory. I could never even attempt a lemon drizzle cake. Well, let's go and sit down and have a little bit of cake. Okay, I'm sitting at the table here in the Brookfield kitchen.

Felicity is making the tea. If you think about how many cups of tea must have been drunk in this kitchen. Yes, since 1951. Oh my goodness. So Felicity slash Ruth is taking a seat beside me But you know you talk about all the cups of tea And there you go Oh thank you very much

That really signifies that this is the headquarters Of a family and a business Talk to me a little about the way Ruth runs both of those She's still absolutely there Helping with the milking of her herd maintaining the hood maintenance on the farm you know there's so much to do

all the paperwork connected to a farm so Ruth is doing all of that but she's also being a mum that was Neula talking to Felicity Finch there and of course you can listen back to that programme there's a really good listen on BBC sounds now it is peak time

for university applications at the moment if you're at that point in your life maybe you have a child heading to university deadlines are looming mid-January where you cast data for 2025 shows a rise in students intending to live at home. 31% of 18-year-olds in the UK indicated that they plan to live at home this year, which is a record high that's compared to 22% a decade ago. So if almost a third is staying at home, what's student life like

today? How does it compare to the student experience of the past, where young people have gotten education in a subject they were passionate about and worried about the actual job later. With me to discuss this is Sikyah Nathan, a second-year student at Birkbeck University in London, Daisy Deppledge-Kittal, a third-year university student at Leeds Trinity, and Dr. Amy Quickfall, head of the School of Education and Childhood, also at Leeds Trinity. Thanks so much to all of you. Let me start with you, Sir Kithia. So you have lived at home and away, haven't you? So what's the difference for you? How have each of those different experiences been? Um, for me personally, living away from home was really fun. It was a chance for me to make new friends, explore myself, reinvent almost. Um, but I also did find it quite destabilizing. Having to work and study and maintain myself was very challenging and a lot more challenging than I expected, especially with, you know, very little support. So moving out was super fun, but I think moving back home definitely.

was also the right way to go, although it was a move I made more out of necessity than of wish. Necessity, why? Purely because now that I'd been, I was studying at Kings before for two years, and then I realized I wasn't enjoying my degree, but I was very stressed about having to pivot because it wasn't something that my family were happy with.

It would mean having to apply for extra tuition fees. and so yeah mostly finances I just wanted to alleviate the burden of you know paying back my loans so yeah I'm coming to reframe it though less of a sacrifice but more as a chance of personal growth an opportunity and Daisy let me bring you in you've also lived both home and away so tell me about how that came about and what it was like so first and second year I lived in halls and it was a really good experience. I met so many new people and like said before,

we got to show my independence. But moving back home was the right choice for me, not because I was anxious or anything like that, more to do with work placements and thinking about my future. I think for me, going to be a teacher, it's really important that I go and know my community I'm going to be in. And once you get into that community as a teacher,

teacher, I'll be able to know so many more people around, so hopefully it'll help me get a job later on. I just prefer being at home because it'll be easier for me to travel to those placements that I might get a job in later on, like next year. And having the support of family is always so helpful. I think people think university life is this big experience where you go and be independent, but I do also have that at home. It's not like I'm still babyed by my parents, contrary to what people usually believe. Do you feel like though you were, there is any missing out on some of those things you can do? For example, you know, you might go out with friends and then all go back to where you

live and you, you know, you would have to, I guess, plan getting home instead of, you know, being out with friends and being able to stay out. Or do your parents kind of monitor you in any way? My parents are completely fine with whatever I do. I have all the independence and freedom, but I guess that's just depending on what type of family you come from. But I think it's just the same. Like, I do go out with my friends, and after a night out,

they'll go to their house at the Trinity campus or Heddingley, and I'll go back to my house in Geisler. It's just, you know, getting back home. So I don't think any of my independence has been taken away. And, like, having... So, could be a... Sorry. to interrupt you, Daisy. I just wanted

to come to Sikythia on that. Is it the same for you? Do your parents kind of keep track of you? Do you feel like you've got the independence you had when you were living away? Well, I do come from a pretty conservative Shalankan Tamil household. So it means, you know, going out,

getting drunk, the kind of clothes I wear when I go out. A lot of those things do get monitored. But I think yeah, I personally just choose to reject it and continue to kind of negotiate what my independence looks like whilst living at home. So similar to what Daisy was saying sometimes, you know, getting back and things like travel, especially are very

challenging considering I live in the suburbs and, you know, the tubes don't always, I mean, the night tube doesn't go there. So I have to do silly things like, you know, lock up my bike at my friend's house and make sure I'm, you know, very vigilant and in a state where I'm able to get back in one piece. So it's kind of about planning, it sounds like, a bit more. Let's bring in Dr. Amy Quickfall now, who as I said was head of the School of Education and Childhood at Leeds, Trinity University. Working on campus, Amy, do you notice that more students are making this choice to live at home? Yes, definitely. And I think it's really important to point out that this varies massively by university. All universities are different. And even programmes at the same university will have different cohorts, different students who want to do different things. But I think at Leeds Trinity, we're probably on more like 50% of our students living in a family home, either with parents, carers or in their own family home. So yes, definitely seen a big shift over the decade. And the experience, you were a student in the 90s, I believe. How do you think

that experience is different from then to now? I think, again, it's really individual. So I think some students will still be having that experience that I had in the 90s of that sort of freedom, that living in a different city, the excitement of that. And as you've said, the sort of freedom of no one knowing where you are and no one keeping tabs on you. Some students still have that. I think I look for a lot of students, that's not what they want anymore for various reasons. And for some students like Daisy, they've got a family home where they're really well supported and they've got that freedom and the financial benefits of living at home probably outweigh any sort of additional freedoms that you might have living away.

What have you seen on campus in particular? Is there a social scene on campus or has that changed? Yes, there definitely is a social scene on campus. And again, university is really very very. So some universities still have really thriving student bars, that kind of thing. I think we've probably got more of a cafe and coffee culture, which is really thriving. I think with our students, they're much more devoted to their studies than I think my cohort were at university. We loved our subjects, obviously, but we were very motivated by the social life.

I think a lot of them are very motivated by their work, by their studies, by their future careers. So the library is also really a buzzing place that it might not have been when I was at university. And the campus bar actually closed, didn't it? Yes, so our campus bar now is a coffee shop and meeting place. And there are a few universities that I think have gone this way. the students, by and large, they want a bar and lots of alcohol on campus. So we've responded to that, and the coffee shop's really popular. But as I say, there are still lots of bars and pubs and, you know, places to go out in the area for our students who want to do that.

Do you think for many people that the purpose of university may have changed somewhat? Yeah, I do. I think, and again, for some students, it won't be so different in decades gone by, but there is such a focus now on careers and salaries and graduate outcomes for our students, because they, you know, for most of them, they are getting, they do take on a lot of debt to get a degree. Their outcomes, what they go on to do next is really important, it's really serious. so I think that that focus has shifted and I think we've seen that narrative more widely

that the purpose, the benefit of a university degree is salary, is job outcome rather than the sort of broader personal enrichment and development that we know happens and still happens for our university students but there's perhaps not so much talk about that anymore. I just want to read a couple of comments that we've had here because there's really differing opinions on this. This one here says, I left home at 18 and

went to university in the 80s and it taught me to look after myself, the washing, cooking, budgeting in particular. We had no phones then and I really spoke to my family from a pay phone in the basement of the residence and wrote a lot of letters to friends. My daughter is about to fly the nest to university and is looking forward to the challenge of looking after herself and meeting new people and the potential nightlife was a major factor in her choice of university. My concern is that like all her generation, she has a mobile phone and will continue the habit of constantly updating her close friends from home. And I worry she may find it harder to find her new tribe there. This one here says, we are one of the few countries that think it's normal for young people to go away from home for university.

We need to stop peddling this notion of what's normal. Student rents are out of control and makes massive sense for young people to stay at home while they study. I say this as the mother of three adults, 29, 27 and 23, the youngest of whom stayed at home for uni, and has much lower debt as a result. You can still have a social life, they say, as you may not have to have a job while studying. Skithy, I just saw you nodding there. Do you agree with that then? It is a big financial outlay, isn't it, to go to university, let alone paying for the rents?

Yeah, I think it is a luxury that comes with strings attached. I mean, personally, I know, especially with a lot of international students, they may have support from their parents who are able to run out a place. And I think that's great if you do have that support, definitely take advantage. But I also think it's a sacrifice for many who kind of at the cost of their emotional and physical health just for a space of their own, yeah, pursue this luxury. So, yeah, I do agree. I think redefining what normal looks like under the current circumstance.

is a very important move to make. Daisy, what do you think about that? I think like it's being touched on the normal, it's normal to go away for university. I think that needs to be changed because I'm having all the same experiences as other peers that are living away and it is a lot about finances

and I'm thinking about my future of how I'll pay that debt off and when I'll get to pay it off. And I think it's completely individual to each person. Just because one person needs to go away to feel that independence and gain that doesn't mean that like I needed it. I still feel really independent and I have had self-growth in so many other ways. Amy, can I bring you in?

You're at a university that really thinks about where the students are going to end up, what job they're going to get. But of course, as we were saying, there are universities where for many people it is just that joy of learning. So do you think there is still room for both here? Absolutely. And I think that that is the reality in universities and in our university. The joy of learning is still there. That hasn't changed.

The love of subjects, the love of studying, of broadening your horizons and finding out new things. That's all still there. I think what has changed is perhaps the narrative, the societal narrative about the value of a university degree. I think that's what's changed. Really interesting discussion from all of you, Dr. Amy Quickfall, Sikithia Nathan and Daisy Deppledge-Kittal. Thank you so much for joining us. We've had so many comments on this, and I'm sorry I haven't been able to read them all, but thank you so much for getting in touch. Just to say, on Weekend Woman's Hour tomorrow, actor Tony Collette on her new film, Goodbye June.

about the death of a parent which was directed by Kate Winsler and a new book that documents Irish nurses in the NHS and the huge recruitment drive, which meant by the 1960s. One in eight nurses were Irish will hear how they suffered from homesickness and prejudice, but also about the rather illicit visits to dance halls and breakfast in bed too. Interesting things to come tomorrow.

Join me for that at 4 o'clock. Thanks for listening. That's all for today's Woman's Hour. Join us again next time. I'm Nula McGarverin and I want to tell you about a BBC podcast called Send in the Spotlight. The number of children with special educational needs is increasing. Too many parents are having to fight to get those needs met and councils are spending money that they do not have. Against a backdrop of government reform, I bring together families, teachers, experts and decision makers to reimagine the system.

Listen to Send in the Spotlight on BBC Sounds.