The benefits of physical activity for cardiovascular health and reducing premature mortality are greater for women than for men, according to a study that analyzed data from more than 400,000 people in the United States over the course of 22 years
These more significant benefits for women have been recorded in all types of physical activity analyzed, which include moderate to intense aerobic activities, as well as strength exercises.
In all cases, it has been seen that women need about half as much physical activity as men to obtain the same benefit. And that, if they increase the level of activity, they get a higher profit.
For example, for moderate aerobic activity such as brisk walking or cycling at an amateur level, men need to spend 300 minutes per week to achieve the maximum benefit in terms of reducing premature mortality. Beyond these five hours a week, with which an 18% reduction in mortality is achieved, no further benefit is obtained.
But women need 140 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, about half as much as men, to achieve this 18% benefit. And if they continue up to 300 minutes, the risk continues to drop to a 24% reduction in mortality. Beyond 300 minutes, they also get no additional benefit.
“There is a large amount of scientific evidence that shows how, on average, there are differences between women and men in the physiological response to exercise,” Susan Cheng, a cardiologist at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told La Vanguardia. Angeles (USA) and director of the studio. Current recommendations for physical activity do not take these differences into account and are the same for both sexes. But “it’s possible that women and men get different benefits for the same amount or type of exercise,” warns Cheng.
To find out, the researchers analyzed data from 225,689 women and 186,724 men who had participated in the US National Health Survey. They were between 27 and 61 years old when they provided data on how much physical activity they did and what type. They were followed from 1997 to 2019. During these 22 years, 39,935 people in the sample died, almost 10%.
According to the results of the study, which are presented this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), moderate aerobic physical activity such as brisk walking is just as beneficial as vigorous activity such as running, but it must be done for more time to get the maximum benefit.
If moderate activity requires 300 minutes per week, or five hours, with intense activity, around 120 minutes, or two hours, is enough. With both activities, a 24% reduction in premature mortality is achieved in women and 18%-19% in men.
Bodybuilding activities, such as core exercises or with weights, also have a protective effect, but not as much as aerobics. Specifically, a 19% reduction in premature mortality has been observed in women and 11% in men with three weekly sessions, which is the level of dedication at which the maximum benefit is recorded.
“Women, on average, do less physical activity than men,” says Susan Cheng. We hope these results will encourage more women to exercise more. Even a limited level of regular exercise can provide a huge benefit, and it turns out that this is especially true for women.”
Since the study was based on correlating data from the US National Health Survey with mortality data, it does not clarify the biological mechanism by which physical activity benefits women more than men. A possible explanation, point out the authors of the study in JACC, is that men tend to have more muscle mass, so the same level of exercise means more effort and more benefit for women. An alternative hypothesis, they add, is that the physiology of the muscle fibers is not the same in the two sexes, with differences affecting the metabolism of the muscles and their ability to contract, which could influence the effects of exercise on the organism
Regardless of the cause, “there is a gender gap between men and women in the practice of physical activity”, declares cardiologist Valentí Fuster, editor of JACC magazine. “These results can encourage more women to do physical activity, as they offer a more affordable goal to those who think that lack of time is a barrier to exercise.”
