GENDER DIFFERENCES IN WORK PERFORMANCE ON THE BALTIMORE THERAPEUTIC EQUIPMENT WORK SIMULATOR

Objectives. The purposes of this study were to (a) establish biomechan ical and physiological normative data for healthy young women performi ng three tasks on the Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment work simulator ( BTE): wheel-turn, push-pull, and overhead-reach; and (b) compare these data with previously reported values for healthy men of a similar age group. Method. Twenty women completed five test sessions: (a) task fa miliarization on the BTE to determine the work intensity that was perc eived as hard on the Borg scale, (b) incremental test on an arm crank ergometer to measure peak oxygen uptake (VO2) and peak heart rate (HR) , and (c) one of the three tasks in random order for 4 min during the next three sessions. Physiological responses were monitored with a met abolic cart interfaced with an electrocardiogram. Results. Torque, wor k, and power during the three tasks were significantly higher (p < .05 ) in men than in women. The absolute VO2 (L. min-1) during these tasks was higher in men, but when the VO2 was calculated relative to body w eight (ml.kg-1 .min-1), no significant (p > .05) gender differences we re observed. Computation of energy expenditure relative to body weight and power output (cal.kg-1 .W-1) indicated that women expended signif icantly (p > .05) more energy than men. No significant (p > .05) gende r differences were observed for VO2 and HR when the values were expres sed as a percentage of their respective peaks. Conclusions: Findings i ndicated that (a) the functional work capacity is significantly lower in women than in men, (b) women are less efficient than men when the e nergy expenditure is expressed per unit of body weight and power outpu t, and (c) the relative physiological stress in men and women is simil ar under these conditions.