Endpoint
Rating of perceived exertion
CAT:outcome/rating-of-perceived-exertionreported in score (Borg)
Method
Borg-type perceived exertion rating (6 to 20 category scale, or 0 to 10 category-ratio CR10) given during or immediately after a defined exercise bout. The scale version and the workload at which the rating was taken are recorded on the edge; CR10 and 6-20 values are not interchangeable.
The method is part of the endpoint identity. Studies measuring the same quantity by a different method are held as separate endpoints.
Notes
RPE added 2026-08-23. Two independent passes agreed on a caffeine null here and it was refused because the span "RPE" shares no scored word with "Rating of perceived exertion" — the same failure recorded against FFM on CAT:outcome/lean-mass, in a literature that uses the acronym more often than the expansion. Collides with no other outcome's vocabulary. The near-miss is CAT:outcome/subjective-fatigue. Both are self-reported effort or tiredness scores that fall with benefit, so the sign is safe but the construct is not: this rating is anchored to a specific external workload at a specific moment and is meaningless without it, while subjective fatigue is a trait-like state rated at rest across days. A lower rating at the same workload means improved efficiency; a lower rating at a lower workload means nothing, which is why the workload is mandatory on the edge. Excludes session-RPE used as a training-load quantifier rather than an outcome.
Findings
1 finding from 1 compound, strongest first.
caffeine — no detected effect on
LikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.FindingNull result“As shown in C, nine studies evaluated RPE after performing an exercise protocol after caffeine supplementation, finding no effect of this supplement on RPE (SMD: 0.258, 95% CI: −0.048, 0.565; I2 0.26% p = 0.260).”
Quoted verbatim from Does Acute Caffeine Supplementation Improve Physical Performance in Female Team-Sport Athletes? Evidence from a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.. - Study
- meta-analysis
- Dose
- Acute oral caffeine, doses across included studies 1.3-6 mg/kg, ingested 60 min before testing
- Population
- Adult female team-sport athletes; RPE recorded after an exercise protocol, pooled across nine studies
Effect 0.258 standardised mean difference, 95% CI -0.048 to 0.565
Does Acute Caffeine Supplementation Improve Physical Performance in Female Team-Sport Athletes? Evidence from a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.2021PMID:34684665