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... Researchers tracked hormone levels, blood markers and body composition over the weeks-long school and the findings, published this month in the Journal of Applied Physiology, are among the first to compare how male and female soldiers respond to the Army's premier leadership course.

The new information comes over a decade after the Pentagon lifted its former ban on women in combat arms roles. In 2015, Ranger School opened to all qualified applicants and since then, over 150 female soldiers have graduated. Thousands more have served -- and are serving -- in frontline roles, in a change researchers say that underscores the need to better understand how prolonged military training affects women's health.

The study, first reported by Task & Purpose, found that while both men and women lost weight and body fat during the course, men experienced more widespread changes across hormone systems and blood markers. Women also experienced hormonal changes, but they were less extensive and largely concentrated during the mountain phase of training.

The findings, researchers said, "indicate that multi-stressor environments may disproportionately affect male physiological markers, whereas females exhibited fewer, phase-specific changes." ...

So... the female bodies seemed to be better equipped for the challenges posed, and did not have to change as much to adapt?