Women Can Achieve Similar Heart Health Benefits to men With Half the exercise, New Study Finds
London, UK – A large-scale study published this week in Nature Cardiovascular Research reveals women may require significantly less exercise than men to achieve comparable heart health benefits. Researchers followed over 80,000 adults in the United Kingdom, with no prior history of heart disease, for approximately seven to eight years, alongside observing more than 5,000 individuals already living with coronary heart disease.
The study found that to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 30%, women needed to engage in roughly 4 hours and 10 minutes of physical activity per week, while men required double that amount – 8 hours and 50 minutes.
“Researchers found that to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 30%, women had to practice 4 hours 10 minutes of physical activity per week while men 8 hours 50 minutes, which is double,” explained Dr. Vincent Valinducq in reporting on the findings.
Even greater differences were observed in those with existing heart conditions. Physical activity reduced the risk of death by 70% in women with coronary heart disease, compared to just 19% in men.
The research categorized activity levels as low, meeting recommended guidelines (150 minutes per week), or highly active. Women who exercised the recommended 150 minutes weekly saw approximately a 22% reduction in heart disease risk,while men experienced a roughly 17% reduction at the same activity level.
Scientists are still investigating the reasons behind these sex-specific differences.potential factors include hormonal influences – specifically the positive effects of estrogen on blood vessels and cholesterol - and variations in muscle composition. Women tend to have a higher proportion of Type 1 muscle fibers, which exhibit stronger oxidative activity and contribute to fat reduction.
Dr. Valinducq also noted that “women will be more likely to have a little less visceral fat in the stomach, unlike men,” and that visceral fat is a known contributor to increased heart risks.
