Respiratory muscle strength and pulmonary functions in athletes: differences by BMI classifications

Background and objective: The respiratory capacity, which substantially affects exercise performance, tends to be affected by many factors such as anthropometric characteristics and different sports branches. We know which body mass index (BMI) category negatively affects pulmonary functions (PFs) in sedentary, but it is unclear in the athlete population. Thus, the first aim of this study was to compare respiratory muscle strength (RMS) and PFs in athletes according to BMI categories. Furthermore, we examined whether different sports disciplines affect RMS and PFs as a second aim in the study. Methods: Athletes were divided into four groups according to BMI categories (