Women and sport

Changes in law and the greater emphasis on the benefits of exercise have led to a greater participation of women in sport at all levels. There are anatomical and physiological differences between males and females which give the male athletes advantages in sports which involve jumping and striding. There are fewer differences between male and female athletes from the same sport and with the same level of fitness than there are between fit and unfit females. Unfit women are less tolerant of exercise in a hot environment than fit women with a high aerobic capacity. The calorific requirements for women are more liable to be inadequate due to their dietary habits. Iron and folate metabolism in female athletes may be affected by several factors, such as increased demands and reduced absorption. Athletes, with the exception of swimmers, tend to have a later menarche than normal. Whether this is due to natural selection, body type, percent body fat, stress or abnormalities of the hypothalamic pituitary axis, still has to be determined. Menstrual disturbances in athletes are common in elite distance runners, who, as a group, tend to display distinct training profiles. Psychological factors and stress also play a part. In some athletes the effects of training and competition on the body composition and the hormones that initiate and control menstruation are varied, complex and not fully understood. Women tend to develop the same injuries as men under similar circumstances, causes being training errors, anatomical factors and so on. The incidence of injury is related to the level of fitness and conditioning as well as to the particular sport.