La caféine est-elle plus efficace chez les hommes que chez les femmes?
Effects of caffeine on endurance capacity and psychological state in young females and males exercising in the heat
Physiologie appliquée, nutrition et métabolisme 12 October 2016 Silva Suvi
Acute caffeine ingestion is considered effective in improving endurance capacity and psychological state. However, current knowledge is based on the findings of studies which mainly have been conducted in temperate environmental conditions on male subjects, whereas some physiological and psychological effects of caffeine differ between sexes. The purpose of this study was to compare physical performance and psychological effects of caffeine in young women and men exercising in the heat.
Thirteen male and ten female students completed two constant-load walks (60% of thermoneutral VO<sub>2</sub>peak) on a treadmill until volitional exhaustion in hot-dry environment (air temperature 42°C, relative humidity 20%) after caffeine (6 mg·kg<sup>–1</sup>; CAF) and placebo (wheat flour; PLC) ingestion in a double-blind, randomly assigned, crossover manner. CAF compared to PLC induced greater increases (p < 0.05) in heart rate and blood lactate concentrations in both males and females, but had no impact on rectal or skin temperatures or walking time to exhaustion in subjects of either gender.
CAF decreased (p < 0.05) ratings of perceived exertion and fatigue in males, but not in females. In females, but not in males, stronger belief that they had administered CAF associated with shorter time to exhaustion.
In conclusion, acute caffeine ingestion increases HR and blood lactate levels during exercise in the heat, but has no impact on thermoregulation or endurance capacity in either gender. Caffeine reduces ratings of perceived exertion and fatigue in males but not in females under exercise-heat stress.