Study Reveals Women Gain Greater Heart Benefits From Exercise With Less Effort Than Men

Women get the same benefits from exercise as men – but with less effort, according to a new study.

Researchers have discovered a “gender gap” between men and women when it comes to working out.

The findings, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), revealed that women can exercise less often than men, yet receive greater heart gains.

Professor Martha Gulati, director of Preventive Cardiology at Smidt Heart Institute said: “Women have historically and statistically lagged behind men in engaging in meaningful exercise.

“The beauty of this study is learning that women can get more out of each minute of moderate to vigorous activity than men do. It’s an incentivizing notion that we hope women will take to heart.”

The researchers analyzed data from more than 400,000 U.S. adults from 1997 to 2019, gathered by the National Health Interview Survey.

Study senior author Professor Susan Cheng said: “For all adults engaging in any regular physical activity, compared to being inactive, mortality risk was expectedly lower.

“Intriguingly, though, mortality risk was reduced by 24 percent in women and 15 percent in men.”

The team also studied moderate to vigorous physical activity – such as brisk walking or cycling – and found that men reached their maximal survival benefit from doing this level of exercise for about five hours per week while women achieved the same from only two-and-a-half hours per week.

When it came to weightlifting and other muscle-strengthening body exercises, men reach their peak from doing three sessions per week compared to women who only need one.

The study also showed that women achieved maximal survival benefit if they exercised for 140 minutes per week whilst men need to perform twice as much at 300 minutes per week to gain the same benefits.

Prof Gulati said: “Women continue to get further benefits for up to 300 minutes a week.”

Prof. Christine Albert added: “I am hopeful that this pioneering research will motivate women who are not currently engaged in regular physical activity to understand that they are in a position to gain tremendous benefit for each increment of regular exercise they are able to invest in their longer-term health.”

Produced in association with SWNS Talker