A new study from the Smidt Heart Institute of Los Angeles has found that men need to do almost twice as much physical exercise as women to obtain the same cardiovascular benefits. The researchers analyzed data on physical activity from over 400,000 adults and concluded that women gain more cardiovascular health benefits from exercise than men.
The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, examined gender-specific outcomes related to frequency, duration, intensity, and type of physical activity. According to one of the authors, Susan Cheng, women reduced their risk of mortality by 24% with sport, while men only reduced it by 15%.
The researchers found that men achieved their greatest cardiovascular health benefit from moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity by doing this type of exercise five hours a week, while women achieved the same with only two and a half hours a week. In terms of muscle-strengthening activities, men gained their maximum benefit from three sessions a week, while women achieved the same benefit from about one session a week.
The study also found that women receive even greater benefits if they do more than two and a half hours a week of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity, or two or more weekly sessions of muscle-strengthening activities.
Taking all types of exercise and variables into account, the researchers confirmed that men get the greatest survival benefit from 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per week, while women get the same benefit from 140 minutes. However, women continue to obtain more benefits up to 300 minutes per week.
These findings shed light on sex-specific physiology observed in the exercise laboratory and provide a more expanded view of sex differences in exercise-related clinical outcomes. This study could have significant implications for how exercise is prescribed and recommended for men and women in the future. Overall, the study highlights the importance of physical activity for both men and women in maintaining cardiovascular health.