To Lower Heart Disease Risk, Men Need Twice As Much Exercise As Women

According to new research published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, in order to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, men need twice as much the amount of exercise as women. The scientists who were a part of the study said that healthy living guidelines need to take more of an account of the biological differences in the sexes to truly help everyone reduce the risk of developing heart disease, or other diseases for that matter. 

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Scientists in the study looked at physical activity records from over 80,000 people, according to reports. They found that the risk of heart disease decreased 30% in women who got up to 250 minutes of exercise every week, while men needed to hit 530 minutes (about nine hours) to have the same effect. 

The study also cited previous research which suggested that women benefit more than men from the same level and amount of exercise, however, it also showed that women are, in general, less physically active and less likely to meet the recommended targets. 

NHS guidelines state that men and women from ages 16 to 64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week, and also perform muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week. 

“Compared with male individuals, females derive equivalent health benefits with only half the exercise time. The findings might have potential to encourage females to engage in physical activity,” the authors wrote. 

Utilizing the UK Biobank project, Dr. Jiajin Chen at Xiamen University in China and his team analyzed data from activity trackers worn by middle-aged volunteers. 

They initially reviewed data from 80,243 participants who did not have coronary heart disease. Within that group, women who did 150-minutes of exercise a week had a 22% lower risk of developing heart disease over eight years of following up when compared to those who did not reach that target. For men, the risk was 17% lower. 

The team revealed that it also showed that women could reduce their heart disease risk by 30% through exercising for 250 minutes a week. Men only achieved this rate by reaching 530 minutes of physical activity weekly. 

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The study also showed that of more than 5,000 men and women who already had coronary heart disease, the risk of dying was three times lower for women who met the weekly exercise target than for active men. 

Professor Yan Wang, a senior author on the paper, said “the work showed both sexes could gain substantial cardiovascular benefit from physical activity.” In general, it’s recommended that everyone gets regular exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce the chances of experiencing health ailments and disease. 

“We particularly hope that our findings could encourage physically inactive females to become more active, thereby reducing their cardiovascular risk,” he said.

While the data showed a pattern, there is no conclusive evidence as to why exercise benefits women more than men in these findings. They hypothesized that it could be due to differences in hormone balances, muscle fibers, or digestion. 

In an accompanying article, Dr Emily Lau, a women’s cardiovascular health specialist at Massachusetts General hospital, stated: 

“This study provides further evidence that one size really does not fit all and challenges us to move from conversation to action. It is time to embed sex-specific strategies into guidelines and to develop tailored interventions to optimize cardiovascular health for women.”