Women vs. Men: Who Gains Greater Benefits from Exercise

A major 2024 study shows women gain more health benefits from exercise than men, often in less time.

Key Findings

1. Less Time, Bigger Gains:
• Women: 140 minutes of moderate exercise (like brisk walking) per week lowered their risk of dying from any cause by 18%.
• Men: Needed 300 minutes of similar exercise to get the same 18% reduction in death risk.
2. Strength Training is Super Powerful for Women:
• Women doing strength training (like weights) at least twice a week saw their risk of dying from heart problems drop by a huge 30%.
• Men doing the same strength training saw only an 11% reduction in heart-related death risk.
• Overall death risk dropped 19% for women vs. 11% for men who strength trained regularly.
3. Heart Health Benefits Favor Women:
• Regular aerobic exercise (like cycling or running) reduced women's risk of dying from heart disease by 36%, compared to just 14% for men.

• Efficiency: Women seem to get more health protection out of every minute of exercise compared to men.
• Motivation: This is great news for women! Even relatively small amounts of regular exercise, especially including strength training, can provide very large health benefits and significantly lower the risk of early death and heart disease.
• Personalized Approach: The findings challenge the idea that everyone needs the same amount of exercise. Women can see major gains without needing to match the longer durations often recommended for men.

About the Study

• Size: Looked at data from 412,000 US adults (55% women) over 20 years.
• Source: Published in a top heart health journal (Journal of the American College of Cardiology).

Expert Quotes

• "Women can get more out of each minute of activity than men." - Lead researcher Dr. Martha Gulati.
• "We don't have many interventions that reduce mortality by 30%." - Dr. Gulati on the power of strength training for women.
• "This research is a call to action... Women have tremendous potential to invest in their long-term health through incremental exercise." - Cardiologist Dr. Christine Albert.

While exercise is crucial for everyone, women can achieve significant, even larger, health benefits – like living longer and having a healthier heart – with less time spent exercising than men, particularly when including strength training.

Disclaimer: The health tips shared on this blog are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine. Content is based on publicly available sources and edited for clarity.