Women Achieve Heart Health from Exercise Quicker Than Men!

LOS ANGELES — In the realm of exercise, women might just have the upper hand in the battle of the sexes.

Researchers at the Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai, have shed light on a notable gender gap in how physical fitness impacts men and women differently.

Their findings suggest that women can reap greater cardiovascular rewards with less exercise compared to men.

According to Dr. Martha Gulati, co-author of the study and director of Preventive Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai, women have historically fallen behind men in meaningful exercise.

The research revealed that women can gain more benefits from each minute of moderate to vigorous activity compared to men. This study provides an encouraging insight for women to embrace.

The study, examining data from 412,000 U.S. adults over two decades, with a participant majority of 55% females, delved into different aspects of physical activity.

It scrutinized factors like frequency, duration, intensity, and type of exercise to understand gender-specific impacts.

In a study led by Dr. Susan Cheng, the Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Population Science and director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology in the Smidt Heart Institute, it was found that for adults engaging in regular physical activity, the risk of mortality was lower compared to those who were inactive.

Intriguingly, though, mortality risk was reduced by 24 percent in women and 15 percent in men.

This difference underscores the varying impacts of exercise based on gender.

Further analysis revealed that men and women reach their maximal survival benefit from moderate to vigorous aerobic activities, like brisk walking or cycling, at different thresholds.

Men require approximately five hours of such exercise per week to achieve maximal benefits, whereas women can obtain similar benefits with just under 2.5 hours weekly.

The disparity extends to muscle-strengthening activities, with men needing three sessions per week for peak benefits, compared to women’s single session.

Moreover, the study suggests that women could see even greater gains by exceeding 2.5 hours of aerobic activity or undertaking more than two muscle strengthening sessions weekly, highlighting the unique physiological responses to exercise between genders.

Drs. Gulati and Cheng's research bridges the gap between lab findings on sex-specific physiology and real world clinical exercise outcomes, providing valuable insights for personalized fitness advice.

Dr. Gulati explains, "Men benefit most from 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity weekly, while women achieve similar benefits with just 140 minutes. However, women gain additional benefits up to 300 minutes weekly.

Dr. Christine M. Albert, Chair of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute, hopes this study emphasizes the importance of exercise for women.

Dr. Albert expresses optimism, This groundbreaking research should inspire inactive women to recognize the significant health advantages gained from each step towards regular physical activity.

This study not only questions current beliefs about exercise and gender but also presents a strong case for customized exercise guidelines that acknowledge the distinct physiological reactions of men and women.

This has the potential to greatly impact public health recommendations and personal fitness approaches.