A study found that women needed two and a half hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity to get maximum benefits, while men needed five hours
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Women can reap more benefits from regular exercise than men, according to a new National Institute of Health study.
The study found that women needed two and a half hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity to reach their “maximum survival benefit” while men needed more than double that, according to the study.
This could be attributed to the differences in “anatomy” and “physiology” between men and women, according to a press release.
Men often have “increased lung capacity,” “larger hearts,” a leaner body mass and more “fast-twitch muscle fibers” compared to women. Due to this, women have to expend more energy and strength to “conduct the same movement” and allow them to reap more benefits, per the press release.
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Toned healthy female training, lifting dumbbells in urban industrial gym with other women working out in background.
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“Even a limited amount of regular exercise can provide a major benefit, and it turns out this is especially true for women,” one of the NIH professionals said in the release. “Taking some regular time out for exercise, even if it’s just 20-30 minutes of vigorous exercise a few times each week, can offer a lot more gain than they may realize.”
The study looked at the cardiovascular health and exercise of over 400,000 U.S. adults between 1997 and 2019. By the end of the study, over 11,600 people died due to cardiovascular-related deaths, which is the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control.
It is also the leading cause of death for men in the U.S., per the agency. In 2021, nearly 400,000 men died from heart disease, which includes heart attacks, heart failure, or heart arrhythmia.
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Toned healthy female training, lifting dumbbells in urban industrial gym with other women working out in background.
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The study measured how well the people followed the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which recommends two and a half to five hours of moderate-intensity exercise or one to two and a half hours of vigorous exercise each week mixed with two or more days of strength training.
However, the researchers of the study noted there were some limitations including the fact that their answers came based on a self-reported questionnaire and that it didn’t take into account variations of different activities around the household.
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Women who engaged in regular aerobic exercise reduced their risk of cardiovascular-related death by 36% while men who did the same reduced their risk by 11%, according to the study. For women and men who regularly strength trained, their risk was reduced by 30% and 11%, respectively.
“This study emphasizes that there is no singular approach for exercise,” said Eric J. Shiroma, Sc.D., a program director in the Clinical Applications and Prevention branch at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
He added: “A person’s physical activity needs and goals may change based on their age, health status, and schedule – but the value of any type of exercise is irrefutable.”
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