Mar 09, 2024 15:00:00

Research shows that women have greater health benefits from exercise than men

Numerous studies have shown that exercise

reduces the risk of death, and everyone can benefit from finding time to exercise. A new study focused on gender differences in the health effects of exercise and found that while exercise reduced the risk of death in both men and women, women reaped greater benefits from exercise than men.

Sex Differences in Association of Physical Activity With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109723083134

Women achieve greater benefits from exercise with less effort • Earth.com
https://www.earth.com/news/women-achieve-greater-benefits-from-exercise-with-less-effort/

Study: Women get greater exercise benefits than men with less effort
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/24/study-women-get-greater-exercise-benefits-than-men-with-less-effort.html

Women might lower their risk for cardiovascular disease by twice the amount as men with exercise | CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/19/health/exercise-women-benefit-wellness/index.html

A research team led by Dr. Susan Chen of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center used a database of National Health Interview Surveys conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics in the United States, and surveyed a total of 410,000 people who responded to the survey between 1997 and 2017. We collected data on 2413 people.

The subjects' ages ranged from 27 to 61 years old, 55% of whom were women, and the subjects answered about the frequency, duration, intensity, and type of physical activity. In addition, the research team collected health data of the subjects until 2019 and analyzed the relationship between physical activity and mortality rate.

The analysis found that 39,935 people died during the study period, 11,670 of whom died from cardiovascular disease. They also found that people who exercised 150 minutes or more a week had a lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those who did not exercise, but the reduction in risk of death was 24% for women and 24% for women. It was found that there was a difference between men and women, with men at 15%. When women exercised, their risk of developing a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular disease was reduced by 36%, while men's risk was only reduced by 14%.

'All adults who engaged in regular physical activity were expected to have a lower risk of death compared to those who were inactive,' Chen said. 'Interestingly, however, the risk of death was 24% lower for women; It decreased by 15% in men.'

In addition, men had the greatest reduction in risk of death when they engaged in at least 300 minutes of moderate-to-intensity exercise per week, whereas women who engaged in at least 140 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week had the same effect as men. It was also found that it was possible to obtain The risk of death among women decreased as the weekly exercise time approached 300 minutes. 'In other words, for the same amount of time and effort put into exercise, women get more out of it than men,' Chen explained.

This study merely investigated the correlation between exercise and mortality risk, and does not prove a causal relationship that ``exercising reduces the risk of death.'' However, Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and health at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado, agrees that the study results are reliable.

Andrew says, ``If I said, ``I have a drug that can prevent heart disease, myocardial infarction, cancer, memory loss, dementia, and make you feel better,'' patients would be excited. 'But it's not a pill, it's sweat crystals,' he said, emphasizing the importance of exercise.