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Peer-reviewedCC BYSports (Basel, Switzerland)

Sex Differences in Substrate Oxidation During Incremental Exercise: An Exploratory Study on the Role of Body Composition.

  • Carlos Abraham Herrera-Amante1,2
  • Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda3,4
  • José Raúl Hoyos-Flores2,5
  • Exal Garcia-Carrillo6,7
  • José Adrián Montenegro-Espinosa8
  • Fiorella Quiroz-Cárdenas9,10
  • Boryi A Becerra-Patiño11
  • José Francisco López-Gil12,13
13 affiliations
  1. 1Laboratorio de Evaluación y Cuidado del Estado Nutricio, División de Ciencias de la Salud, Centro Universitario de Tonalá, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tonalá 45425, Jalisco, Mexico.
  2. 2Red Iberoamericana de Investigadores en Antropometría Aplicada, 04120 Almería, Spain.
  3. 3Faculty of Education and Humanities, School of Sport Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Viña del Mar 2520000, Chile.
  4. 4Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Fit Generation Research Institute, AD500 Andorra la Vella, Andorra.
  5. 5Faculty of Sports Organization, Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
  6. 6Department of Physical Activity Sciences, Faculty of Education Sciences, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3480112, Chile.
  7. 7School of Education, Faculty of Human Sciences, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile.
  8. 8Universidad Autónoma del Paraguay, Asunción 001012, Paraguay.
  9. 9Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno 5311157, Chile.
  10. 10Department of Health Research, Icen Cognis, 38370 La Matanza de Acentejo, Spain.
  11. 11Faculty of Physical Education, National Pedagogical University, Bogotá 480100, Colombia.
  12. 12School of Medicine, Universidad Espiritu Santo, Samborondón 092301, Ecuador.
  13. 13Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica Atlántico Mediterráneo-UTAMED, 29590 Malaga, Spain.
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Abstract

Background: Men display higher absolute fat oxidation rates during exercise than women, but whether fat-free mass (FFM) moderates the substrate-intensity relationship in a sex-specific manner remains untested. Methods: In this cross-sectional laboratory study, we evaluated 37 competitive athletes (20 women, 17 men; age 22 ± 5 years) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and indirect calorimetry during incremental treadmill exercise (538 min-by-min observations) to evaluate a sex × FFM × intensity interaction using linear mixed-effects models. Results: The primary sex × FFM × intensity interaction was non-significant (β=+0.014, 95 % CI -0.021 to +0.049; p=0.443). Absolute maximal fat oxidation (MFO) was higher in men (0.826±0.234 vs. 0.655±0.175 g⋅min-1; p=0.038), but it disappeared when normalised to FFM (15.45±4.19 vs. 15.74±4.85 mg⋅kg FFM-1⋅min-1; p=0.847). Interestingly, a strong sex × adiposity (DXA body-fat percentage, %) interaction was identified (β=-0.440, q<0.001), with higher adiposity linked to higher fat oxidation in men (β=+0.339, p<0.001) but lower in women (β=-0.115, p=0.010). Conclusions: Adiposity was identified as the most significant sex-specific moderator, with evidence showing that it is associated with greater fat oxidation in men and lower fat oxidation in women. The male advantage in absolute fat oxidation reflected greater FFM, because MFO per kilogram of FFM did not differ between sexes; muscle oxidative capacity was not measured directly. However, the exploratory nature of the study requires confirmation in future research.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{herreraamante2026differences,
  title = {{Sex Differences in Substrate Oxidation During Incremental Exercise: An Exploratory Study on the Role of Body Composition.}},
  author = {Carlos Abraham Herrera-Amante and Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda and José Raúl Hoyos-Flores and Exal Garcia-Carrillo and José Adrián Montenegro-Espinosa and Fiorella Quiroz-Cárdenas and Boryi A Becerra-Patiño and José Francisco López-Gil},
  journal = {Sports (Basel, Switzerland)},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3390/sports14100444},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931582},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Sex Differences in Substrate Oxidation During Incremental Exercise: An Exploratory Study on the Role of Body Composition.
AU  - Carlos Abraham Herrera-Amante
AU  - Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda
AU  - José Raúl Hoyos-Flores
AU  - Exal Garcia-Carrillo
AU  - José Adrián Montenegro-Espinosa
AU  - Fiorella Quiroz-Cárdenas
AU  - Boryi A Becerra-Patiño
AU  - José Francisco López-Gil
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/09
JO  - Sports (Basel, Switzerland)
DO  - 10.3390/sports14100444
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931582
AB  - Background: Men display higher absolute fat oxidation rates during exercise than women, but whether fat-free mass (FFM) moderates the substrate-intensity relationship in a sex-specific manner remains untested. Methods: In this cross-sectional laboratory study, we evaluated 37 competitive athletes (20 women, 17 men; age 22 ± 5 years) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and indirect calorimetry during incremental treadmill exercise (538 min-by-min observations) to evaluate a sex × FFM × intensity interaction using linear mixed-effects models. Results: The primary sex × FFM × intensity interaction was non-significant (β=+0.014, 95 % CI -0.021 to +0.049; p=0.443). Absolute maximal fat oxidation (MFO) was higher in men (0.826±0.234 vs. 0.655±0.175 g⋅min-1; p=0.038), but it disappeared when normalised to FFM (15.45±4.19 vs. 15.74±4.85 mg⋅kg FFM-1⋅min-1; p=0.847). Interestingly, a strong sex × adiposity (DXA body-fat percentage, %) interaction was identified (β=-0.440, q<0.001), with higher adiposity linked to higher fat oxidation in men (β=+0.339, p<0.001) but lower in women (β=-0.115, p=0.010). Conclusions: Adiposity was identified as the most significant sex-specific moderator, with evidence showing that it is associated with greater fat oxidation in men and lower fat oxidation in women. The male advantage in absolute fat oxidation reflected greater FFM, because MFO per kilogram of FFM did not differ between sexes; muscle oxidative capacity was not measured directly. However, the exploratory nature of the study requires confirmation in future research.
SN  - 2075-4663
ER  -