Evidence Built on Men? Sports Drinks and Performance in Female Athletes: A Scoping Review
This scoping review of 21 studies highlights that while sports drinks may enhance endurance performance in female athletes, the current evidence base is limited by significant heterogeneity and a lack of definitive conclusions regarding their efficacy for power output, cognitive function, and sport-specific tasks, underscoring an urgent need for more robust, adequately powered research.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Athletes have long relied on specialized beverages to keep their bodies fueled and hydrated during intense physical exertion. These drinks, often containing sugars and salts, are designed to replace what the body loses through sweat and to provide a quick source of energy when muscles are working hard. For decades, the scientific consensus has been that these drinks improve performance, particularly in long, grueling events where the body's natural energy stores run low. This understanding has shaped the guidelines used by coaches and nutritionists worldwide. However, a significant gap has existed in this knowledge: the vast majority of the research supporting these claims was conducted on men. While women participate in sports at every level, from local leagues to the Olympic stage, the specific science behind how these drinks affect female physiology has remained largely unexplored. This leaves a critical question unanswered: do the rules that apply to male athletes hold true for women, or are the current recommendations simply an untested guess applied to a different biological system?
A team of researchers set out to map the existing landscape of this missing evidence. They conducted a comprehensive review, searching through thousands of scientific studies to find any that specifically tested sports drinks on female athletes. Their goal was not to conduct new experiments, but to gather and analyze every piece of reliable data that already existed. They looked for studies involving women who were classified as serious athletes, ranging from recreational competitors to national and elite levels. The researchers examined how these women performed after drinking sports beverages before, during, or after exercise. They focused on a wide array of outcomes, including how long the athletes could keep going, how fast they could run or swim, how much power they could generate, and even how well their minds could focus during the effort.
The search revealed a stark reality. Out of more than twelve thousand studies identified, only twenty-one met the strict criteria to be included in the final analysis. Across all these studies combined, there were just 211 female participants. In many of the individual studies, the number of women was incredibly small, sometimes as few as two or three. This scarcity of data means that the researchers could not draw the same kind of firm, universal conclusions that are possible when studying larger groups. Instead, they had to piece together a picture from a fragmented collection of findings, noting where the evidence was strong and where it was thin.
When the researchers looked at endurance events, such as running or cycling for long periods, the limited evidence suggested that sports drinks could help. In studies where women ran or cycled until they could no longer continue, or where they raced against the clock over a set distance, those who consumed the drinks often performed better than those who drank water or a placebo. This aligns with the known science that providing sugar during long efforts helps delay fatigue. However, the picture changed when the focus shifted to short, explosive bursts of power. When the researchers examined tests of strength, such as lifting heavy weights or sprinting for a few seconds, the sports drinks showed no benefit. The women did not lift more weight or sprint faster after drinking them. Similarly, for activities that involve stopping and starting, like team sports such as soccer or volleyball, the results were mixed, with some tests showing no improvement in performance.
The review also highlighted a fascinating difference in how men and women handle the physical stress of exercise. In the few studies that compared the two sexes directly, women consistently lost less body water and maintained a more stable internal temperature than men during the same activities. This suggests that women might not need the same volume of fluid replacement as men, or that their bodies regulate heat and hydration in a distinct way. Furthermore, the researchers found that the menstrual cycle, a natural hormonal fluctuation that occurs in women, was rarely accounted for in these studies. Since hormones can influence how the body uses energy and manages fluids, the lack of this data makes it difficult to know if the results would change depending on the time of the month.
Ultimately, this review serves as a clear call to action rather than a final verdict. The authors found that while sports drinks may offer some benefits for female endurance athletes, the evidence is too thin and too varied to make definitive claims. The current guidelines, which are largely built on data from men, may not accurately reflect the needs of women. The researchers emphasize that future studies must be designed specifically for female athletes, with enough participants to provide reliable answers and with careful attention to biological factors like the menstrual cycle. Until more high-quality research is conducted, the advice given to female athletes regarding these drinks remains an educated guess based on a population that was never the primary subject of the original science.
Drowning in papers in your field?
Get daily digests of the most novel papers matching your research keywords — with technical summaries, in your language.