Authors of a new comprehensive study found that, to reduce the risk of heart disease, men need twice as much physical activity as women.
At the outset of the research, the team looked at previous studies suggesting women get more benefit from the same amount of exercise as men. But women tend to be less physically active and are less likely to meet recommended activity levels.
According to guidelines from the UK’s National Health Service, both men and women aged 16 to 64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, and include muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice a week.
However, the new study found that women can achieve the same heart-health benefits by exercising half as much.
Over eight years, a team led by Dr. Jiaxin Chen analyzed data on the physical activity and health status of more than 80,000 individuals over the age of 50. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had ischemic heart disease. Ultimately, researchers found that the risk of cardiovascular disease decreased by 30 percent in women who exercised 250 minutes per week. In contrast, men needed to exercise 530 minutes per week to achieve a similar effect, as reported by The Guardian.
What else did the researchers discover?
“Women receive the same health benefits by exercising half as much as men,” the authors wrote in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research.
The most surprising result came from analyzing data from over 5,000 men and women suffering from ischemic heart disease. Researchers found that, over the eight-year observation period, the mortality rate was three times lower in women who met the recommended weekly exercise guideline (150 minutes) compared to men with similar activity levels.
Professor Yan Wang, the study’s lead author, emphasized that both genders can gain substantial cardiovascular benefits from physical activity.
The reason for the gender differences in how much preventive exercise each sex needs remains unclear. The team suggested that the explanation may lie in differences in sex hormones, muscle fibers, and the ability to metabolize glucose for energy production.
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