Women can exercise half as much as men and still reap greater health benefits, research shows
- Researchers found that women may get more cardiovascular benefits from exercise
- Women can do half the hours of aerobic activity and still benefit, researchers say
Women only need to exercise half as much as men to get the same heart health benefits, a study has found.
Those who cycle, swim or run regularly are significantly less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than men, even if they exert less effort.
Overall, women and men with active lifestyles were 24 to 15 percent less likely to die early compared to those who led sedentary lives.
Women were also 36 percent less likely to have a fatal heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event, compared to 14 percent among men, researchers found.
Experts say the findings should encourage more women to take up exercise – knowing a little can make a real difference.
Those who regularly cycle, swim or run are significantly less likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than men – even if they exert less effort, researchers say
Martha Gulati, a cardiologist at the Smidt Heart Institute in Cedars-Sinai, California, said, “Women have historically and statistically lagged behind men when it comes to meaningful exercise.
‘The great thing about this study is that women can get more out of every minute of moderate to vigorous activity than men.
“It’s an empowering idea that we hope women will take to heart.”
Research involving more than 400,000 American adults between 1997 and 2019 found that women benefited most from everything from brisk walking to high-intensity workouts.
While men need to do 300 minutes – or five hours – of moderate exercise to get the full benefit, the fairer sex can achieve the same gains in just 140 minutes, or 2.5 hours, they said.
The same was true for vigorous aerobic exercise – such as spin or aerobic classes – with women needing just 57 minutes compared to 100 minutes for men to achieve the same 19 percent lower risk of death.
Women who participated in strength training saw a 30 percent lower risk of heart-related deaths, compared to 11 percent for men, according to findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The researchers speculate that this could be due to differences in anatomy and physiology, with women requiring more effort to perform the same level of exercise as men.
For example, men generally have greater lung capacity, a larger heart, more lean body mass and a higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers – which generate high levels of strength and power – than women.
They noted that women made even greater gains when they performed more than 2.5 hours per week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity, or two or more sessions per week of muscle-strengthening activities.
Dr. Susan Cheng, co-author, said: ‘Even a limited amount of regular exercise can provide a big benefit, and it turns out this is especially true for women.
‘Taking time to exercise regularly, even if it’s just 20 to 30 minutes of vigorous exercise a few times a week, can yield far more benefits than they may realize.’