Barriers and Motives for Physical Activity and Sports Practice among Trans People: A Systematic Review
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I would like to recognize the authors' efforts in producing this review manuscript regarding the barriers and motives for physical exercise and sports practice in trans individuals.
Please find my comments attached.
Regards
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
I would like to recognize the authors' efforts in producing this review manuscript regarding the barriers and motives for physical exercise and sports practice in trans individuals. The authors did a great job locating all the published papers between October 2016 and December 2021.
Response: We would like to thank you for the comments and suggestions.
The abstract is clear and includes where the articles were obtained from. The authors state that only six studies were included in the review based on the inclusion criteria. Internal and external barriers are clearly presented. The importance of this review is also highlighted.
Response: Thank you for your appreciation.
The introduction clearly presents the obstacles that the trans population faces and highlights the role that exercise has, particularly for the trans population. A clear rationale for the review is presented as well. ´
Response: Thank you for your appreciation.
Introduction: Line 41: good points as trans males have comparable body dissatisfaction scores to eating disordered males.
Response: Thank you for your appreciation.
Line 42: correct (situational avoidance).
Response: Thank you. It was altered accordingly.
The methodology and search strategy are clear. The search of the articles can be easily repeated based on the "keywords" provided by the authors. The eligibility criteria are clear, and the flowchart is accurate. I randomly selected some studies to identify if any inconsistencies were presented by the authors, but I could not identify any issues. I did not read all the studies, however.
The results of the studies are clearly presented (internal and external barriers as well as motives for physical exercise).
Response: Thank you for your comments.
Discussion
Line 225: I would say physical activity, exercise and sports
Response: We understand that you are trying to help us have a simpler language in the entire manuscript. However, we believe that we should always specify that we are talking about physical exercise (e.g., gym exercises) and not another type of exercise (e.g., mental exercise). We apologise for not taking into consideration this suggestion. However, in past revisions, we have been told to always clarify this concept. Thank you so much for understanding.
My only comment is that instead of physical exercise (throughout the article), I would probably use physical activity as the term physical exercise is not commonly used in the sports science area. This is just a minor comment, however. Exercise is a subset of physical activity.
Response: The manuscript was revised according to the suggestion presented.
I find the results of this review critical, especially for sports scientists, fitness coaches etc.
Response: Thank you for your comment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The text deals with a relevant and fundamental issue in our society.It is well written and well structured. The abstract and keywords are correct depending on the topic. The theoretical corpus is adequate to what is contextualized and anticipates that it is going to be treated.
The methodology seems correct to me, it is a systematic review and follows the PRISMA protocol. It also includes the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Author Response
The text deals with a relevant and fundamental issue in our society.
It is well written and well structured. The abstract and keywords are correct depending on the topic. The theoretical corpus is adequate to what is contextualized and anticipates that it is going to be treated.
The methodology seems correct to me, it is a systematic review and follows the PRISMA protocol. It also includes the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Response: We would like to thank the reviewer for the comments.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This was a very interesting reading. I was pleasantly surprised with the article and I only have a few suggestions.
There is no need to divide chpaters 2 and 3 into sub chapters. Having a subchapter with only one paragraphs is uncommon.
You should elaborate why did you include this relatively short period (from 2016 to present).
I suggest that section “Implications for practice” be transferred to conclusions. It is also usual to provide limitations and future research recommendations in conclusions.
Author Response
This was a very interesting reading. I was pleasantly surprised with the article and I only have a few suggestions.
Response: We would like to thank you for the comment.
There is no need to divide chpaters 2 and 3 into sub chapters. Having a subchapter with only one paragraphs is uncommon.
Response: We accept the suggestion and the subchapter of point 3 has been eliminated. However, we consider it is important to keep this division in point 2, which is in line with other review articles published in this journal.
You should elaborate why did you include this relatively short period (from 2016 to present).
Response: Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this. In the manuscript, we address that the review is between 2016 and the present moment because of the last systematic review (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27699698/) published regarding the “same” topic. We aimed to search for possible changes in literature and research and meet the increase in the number of studies, since the last systematic review. Specifically, as pointed out in the manuscript, after the important changes faced in 2015 (it became possible for trans men and women to participate in the Olympics with testosterone levels below 10 nmol/L, 12 months prior to their first competition) and in 2019 (the Australian Sports Commission published a set of guidelines with the aim of making sports more inclusive for trans and gender-diverse people).
I suggest that section “Implications for practice” be transferred to conclusions. It is also usual to provide limitations and future research recommendations in conclusions.
Response: Thank you for the suggestion. The section “implications for the practice” has been incorporated into the conclusions section. However, we consider that the limitations and suggestions for future studies should remain in the discussion as they arise in the continuity of what was mentioned in that section. Thus, we changed it to the end of the discussion.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
