Current evidence suggests that transgender individuals on gender-affirming hormone therapy perform more similarly to their affirmed gender, with no clear athletic advantage post-transition.
How does the physical fitness and athletic performance of transgender individuals on gender affirming hormone therapy compare to cisgender individuals?
Current evidence suggests gender-affirming hormone therapy alters physical performance in transgender individuals to become more similar to their gender identity counterparts, highlighting the complexity of using gender as a strict criterion for sports inclusion.
There are well known sex differences in parameters of physical fitness/performance due to changes occurring during sexual development. Thus, many sport and athletic events have regulations separating male and female participants. However, the inclusion or exclusion of transgender individuals in athletics has recently received outsized attention despite relatively few cases of transgender athletes. When determining which athletic gender category trans individuals should be permitted to compete in, it is important to understand the level of physical fitness/performance these individuals possess relative to their cisgender counterparts. Unfortunately, there are few studies investigating this topic, and several complications that confound this research. The current review seeks to discuss sex and gender as concepts, review sex differences in fitness/performance and how they develop, and then, consider how current evidence suggests that trans individuals compare to cis individuals. Finally, this review seeks to offer considerations for whether trans individuals should be excluded from sports and athletics, and how future research should proceed to better understand this marginalized population.
Douglas J. Oberlin (Fri,) conducted a review in Athletic performance in transgender individuals. Gender-affirming hormone therapy vs. Cisgender individuals was evaluated. Current evidence suggests that transgender individuals on gender-affirming hormone therapy perform more similarly to their affirmed gender, with no clear athletic advantage post-transition.