New Study Finds Women Need Less Exercise Than Men for Same Health Benefits
A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has found that women need less exercise to achieve the same health benefits as men. The study, conducted by researchers at the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging at the Smidt Heart Institute of Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, analyzed health data from 412,413 adults in the United States.
The researchers found that women needed just under 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity per week to get the same “survival benefit” that men get from five hours of physical activity. The risk of mortality for women who engaged in regular physical activity was reduced by 24% compared to 15% for men.
Among the women studied, those who regularly practiced aerobic exercise were associated with a 36% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular problems compared to a 14% risk reduction for men. The study also found that while men achieved maximum benefit from three sessions of muscle-strengthening activity per week, women achieved the same degree of benefit with approximately one session per week.
The authors of the study caution that the findings are observational and cannot be conclusively linked to exercise as the cause of the reduction in the risk of death. They also note that the data are self-reported and do not take into account domestic activities, which are more often carried out by women.
According to the researchers, the differences in the amount of exercise needed for men and women may be due to physiological differences. Women have more capillaries in certain sections of their muscles, which could help more blood and oxygen flow to the heart during exercise. Additionally, women have higher levels of the hormone estrogen until menopause, which also improves blood flow.
Despite the limitations of the study, the findings have implications for public health guidelines. Paul Arciero, a sports medicine specialist and nutritionist at the University of Pittsburgh, suggests that there should be separate guidelines for men and women, given the clear sex-based differences in response to exercise.
Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and well-being at National Jewish Health in Denver, emphasizes the importance of personalized treatments and therapies based on an individual’s physiology. “Women are not little men, but they have a completely different physiology,” Freeman commented.
While the study’s findings need further confirmation, they offer encouraging news for women, who generally engage in less organized physical activity than men. If the results hold true, it could mean that women can achieve significant health benefits with less exercise compared to men.