Women Achieve More with Less Exercise Than Men, Study Says

Krissy Vann | Host, All Things Fitness and Wellness

A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has shed new light on how physical activity benefits men and women differently when it comes to reducing the risk of death from any cause and from cardiovascular diseases specifically. This extensive research, drawing on data from 412,413 U.S. adults collected between 1997 and 2019, aimed to understand if the health advantages of physical exercise vary by gender.

The findings reveal a significant gender gap in exercise participation, with men generally being more active than women. Despite this, the study highlights that women who regularly engage in leisure-time physical activity experience a 24% reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality, compared to a 15% reduction for their male counterparts. Interestingly, both men and women achieve maximum health benefits from about five hours per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activities, such as brisk walking or cycling. However, women start to see health benefits from as little as half this amount of activity per week.

Moreover, the study suggests that women gain more from muscle-strengthening exercises, like weightlifting or doing core workouts, with a 19% reduction in mortality risk, compared to an 11% reduction for men. This research emphasizes the importance of regular physical activity for both genders, but it also highlights the greater relative benefits women can derive from being active. Such insights could play a crucial role in encouraging more women to incorporate physical activity into their lifestyles, potentially narrowing the exercise participation gap between genders.

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