Sweating in the gym consistently and regularly repays the efforts of women more than men. In fact, in terms of health benefits, you benefit the most from physical exercise. This is what emerges from an observational study supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), which reveals a 'gender gap' in the fruits of physical effort, this time all in favor of female quotas. And it is no small 'reward': for the same amount of movement, with the same regularity, the risk of premature death or fatal cardiovascular events is significantly lower for women than for men, even when women make less effort.
The results – published in the 'Journal of the American College of Cardiology' – are based on a prospective analysis of data from over 400 thousand US adults aged between 27 and 61, from which it emerged over 2 decades that the 'Sporty' women were 24% less likely than non-exercisers to experience death from any cause, while men were 15% less likely. Women also had a 36 percent reduced risk of heart attack, stroke or other fatal cardiovascular events, while men had a 14 percent reduced risk. “We hope this study helps everyone, especially women, to understand that they are predisposed to obtain enormous benefits from physical exercise – highlights Susan Cheng, cardiologist expert in women's cardiovascular health, Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles – It's an incredibly powerful way to live healthier, longer. Women on average tend to exercise less than men and hopefully this data will inspire more of them to add more movement to their lives.”
Researchers found a link between women experiencing a greater reduction in risk of death and all types of exercise: moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking; vigorous exercise, such as taking spinning classes or jumping rope; strength training. In detail, it was discovered that for moderate aerobic physical activity the reduced risk of death stabilized for both men and women at 300 minutes, or 5 hours, per week. At this level of activity, women and men reduced their risk of premature death by 24% and 18% respectively. Similar trends were seen with 110 minutes of weekly vigorous aerobic exercise, which correlated with a 24% reduction in the risk of death for women and 19% for men.
Another element highlighted by scientists is that women obtained the same benefits as men, but in a shorter time. For moderate aerobic exercise, they reached the -18% risk level in half the time needed for men: 140 minutes or less than 2.5 hours per week, compared to 300 minutes for men. With vigorous aerobic exercise, women achieved a 19% risk reduction with just 57 minutes per week, compared to the 110 minutes needed for men. This benefit also applied to weekly strength training exercises. Women and men who participated in this type of exercise had a 19% and 11% reduced risk of death, respectively, compared to those who did not. Women who did strength training saw an even greater reduction in the risk of cardiovascular-related deaths: a 30% reduced risk, compared to 11% for men.
Despite all the health benefits of exercise for both groups, however, only 33% of women and 43% of men in the study met the standard for weekly aerobic exercise, and only 20% of women and 28% of men completed a weekly strength training session. “Even a limited amount of regular exercise can provide great benefits, and this is especially true for women,” Cheng points out. “Regularly taking time to exercise, even if it's just 20 to 30 minutes of intense exercise a couple of times a week, can offer much more gain than you might imagine.”
“This study indicates that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to physical exercise,” concludes Eric J. Shiroma, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Nhkbi). “A person's physical activity needs and goals may change based on age, health and schedule, but the value of any type of exercise is irrefutable.” The authors point out that multiple factors, including variations in anatomy and physiology, may explain the differences in outcomes between the sexes. For example, men often have greater lung capacity, a larger heart, greater lean mass, and a higher percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers than women. As a result, women can use additional respiratory, metabolic and strength demands to perform the same movement and, in turn, gain greater health benefits.
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