Male and Female Responses to Stoopwalking Tasks

Abstract

This study was performed to evaluate the changes in physiological responses to task performance in trained male and female subjects while stoopwalking in increasingly bent postures. Following a 10-day training program, 5 male and 5 female subjects stoopwalked at heights corresponding to 100, 90, 80, and 70 percent of each subjects normal upright stature at speeds of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 miles per hour. Physiological variables were equilibrium heart rate, ventilation volume, weight adjusted oxygen uptake, and the percentage of work capacity required for task performance.

A MANOVA analysis of the dependent variables showed there to be a significant sex difference in the composite response to task performance. Univariate ANOVA and discrimate analyses performed on the dependent variables showed that this difference was due to females experiencing significantly greater heart rates than the males, and greater, but not significantly so, percentages of work capacity to perform the same task loadings as the males.