Research
Mixed
Females experience greater central limitations to whole-body exercise performance due to smaller lung volumes and airways, leading to higher mechanical work of breathing and a greater prevalence of exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia (EIAH).
Women may experience breathing-related fatigue sooner than men during high-intensity whole-body exercise due to smaller airways and lungs. This can limit performance despite good muscle endurance. Training that improves respiratory efficiency or pacing strategies may be beneficial.
GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
These morphological differences influence factors such as the work of breathing... which all amalgamate into a potentially greater central limitation to whole-body exercise performance in females.
Why this rating
Based on multiple studies cited regarding respiratory mechanics and EIAH.
Source
Physiological sex differences affect the integrative response to exercise: acute and chronic implications
Paul Ansdell et al. · Experimental Physiology · 2020
DOI 10.1113/ep088548
narrative_reviewCited 369×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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