Who Benefits More From Exercise Men or Women

Regular exercise significantly lowers the risk of death, particularly from heart-related issues.

However, research indicates that the benefits of exercise aren't identical for everyone, with notable differences between men and women.

Recent findings from a 2024 study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology revealed that women may gain greater survival benefits from physical activity in less time than men.

The study analyzed data from over 412,000 U.S. adults aged 27 to 61, using information gathered through the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 1997 to 2017.

Dr. Martha Gulati, co-lead author and director of preventive cardiology at Cedars-Sinai's Smidt Heart Institute, shared her thoughts on the outcome.

"The beauty of this study is learning that women can get more out of each minute of moderate to vigorous activity than men do. It’s an incentivizing idea that we hope women will take to heart."

Study Insights

The NHIS covered participants’ exercise routines, frequencies, durations, intensities, demographics, and health conditions.

Death records, including all-cause and cardiovascular-specific fatalities, were analyzed through the National Death Index to extract insights.

The study’s timeframe linked 39,935 deaths, of which 11,670 were related to cardiovascular mortality.

Key findings include:

Aerobic Exercise:

• • About 32% of women and 43% of men met the recommended 150 minutes of aerobic exercise weekly.
    
    
  • Regularly active women had up to a 24% lower overall mortality risk compared to inactive women; for men, it was 15%.
    
    
  • Optimal reductions in mortality risk occurred with 140 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week for women, compared to 300 minutes for men.
    
    
  • Strength Training - Women reported 0.85 weekly strength training sessions on average, while men reported 1.25 sessions. - Women completing at least two strength workouts weekly saw a 19% reduction in mortality risk, versus 11% in men. - Cardiovascular risk reductions were especially notable, with strength training lowering risk by 30% in women and 11% in men.
    
    

The study underscores that women consistently achieve "proportionally greater benefits" from exercise across various activity levels.

Limitations

The study depended on self-reported data, which may have inaccuracies, and only focused on leisure-time physical activity, excluding work or household-related exercise.

Additionally, changes in exercise habits over time or unassessed health conditions were not fully accounted for.

Encouragement for Women

Despite these limitations, the research aligns with similar findings from a 2011 meta-analysis in Circulation.

The results highlight how exercise can be a particularly powerful tool for women to improve their overall and cardiovascular health.

"I hope this groundbreaking research encourages women to see how even small amounts of regular physical activity can lead to tremendous longer-term health benefits," said Dr. Christine Albert, chair of cardiology at Cedars-Sinai.

The message is clear for anyone still debating whether to exercise. For women especially, every step, sprint, or lift can translate to a significantly healthier and longer life.

Source: livescience

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.