Men need twice the exercise as women for this health benefit

Sorry, fellas.

New research suggests that men may need to exercise twice as much as women to lower their chances of developing a major health threat that kills them more often.

“This study provides strong evidence that a one-size-fits-all approach cannot and should not be used to guide physical activity recommendations for men and women,” Dr. Emily Lau, a cardiologist, wrote in an accompanying editorial.

The CDC recommends that US adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, plus two muscle-strengthening sessions, to stay physically and mentally healthy.

To see how those guidelines affect coronary heart disease risk, Chinese researchers analyzed data from more than 80,000 UK Biobank participants who wore wrist activity trackers.

They found that women who reached the 150-minute target had a 22% lower risk of being diagnosed with coronary heart disease — compared with just 17% for men.

The gap widened with more exercise: Women who worked out 250 minutes a week cut their risk by 30%, while men had to log a staggering 530 minutes to achieve the same benefit.

“This isn’t bad news for men, it’s just something we should know about,” Dr. Nir Eynon, an Australian researcher in epigenetics, aging and exercise who was not involved in the study, told the New Scientist.

“Once we know, we can do better — we can do more exercise. And while it’s reassuring for women who are busy all the time, I also think women should not miss the fact that they need to exercise as well,” he added. 

Coronary heart disease strikes when the arteries can’t deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart, often because of plaque buildup. It’s the most common form of heart disease, affecting roughly 1 in 20 American adults, according to the CDC.

In 2022, it claimed more than 370,000 lives in the US. While it is a leading killer for both sexes, death rates are higher in men, especially among younger adults.

Scientists are still working to understand why women might gain more cardiovascular benefits from exercise than men, but there are a few theories.

“Physiologically, circulating estrogen levels are much higher in females than in males, and estrogen can promote body fat loss during exercise,” Dr. Jiajin Chen, one of the study’s authors and a researcher at the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in China, told ABC News.

The hormone also relaxes arteries, balances cholesterol levels and reduces inflammation and oxidative stress — all factors that can contribute to coronary heart disease. 

This may help explain why women typically experience heart events later in life than men, with their risk rising sharply after menopause as estrogen levels drop.

Muscle type may also play a role.

Men typically have more “fast-twitch” muscles, which are ideal for short, powerful movements, while women generally have more “slow-twitch” muscles, which can make their bodies more efficient during long workouts.

“These physiological differences may partly explain the increased sensitivity to physical activity and greater cardiovascular benefit observed in females,” Chen said.

The study findings may encourage physically inactive women to exercise more, potentially lowering their cardiovascular risk, the researchers suggested.

But, as Lau points out, it’s not that simple. 

“We see time and time again that women are less physically active and less likely to achieve the recommended physical activity targets,” she wrote 

A 2020 CDC study backs this up, showing that men were more likely to meet both aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines (28.3%) compared with women (20.4%).

“This highlights an opportunity for the medical community to think about how we can tailor our recommendations to women,” Lau wrote. “Because what we are doing now is not quite working.”