Men Need Twice as Much Exercise as Women to Lower Heart Disease Risk, Study Finds

A groundbreaking study has revealed that men need to exercise nearly twice as much as women to achieve the same reduction in heart disease risk. The research, which analyzed data from over 80,000 participants, suggests that sex-specific exercise recommendations should be considered to improve cardiovascular health for both men and women.

Disparities in Exercise and Heart Disease Risk

Researchers examined physical activity records and discovered that women who engaged in 250 minutes of exercise per week saw a 30% reduction in coronary heart disease risk. In comparison, men required a significantly higher level of physical activity—530 minutes, or nearly nine hours a week—to experience the same benefit.

This new study builds upon previous findings that women appear to derive more cardiovascular benefits from exercise than men. However, the study also highlights a troubling reality: women, on average, tend to be less physically active than men and are less likely to meet the recommended exercise targets.

The Importance of Tailored Exercise Recommendations

Under current NHS guidelines, both men and women aged 16 to 64 are encouraged to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, combined with muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice a week. But the latest findings suggest that these guidelines may not be optimal for everyone.

The researchers argue that tailored recommendations are essential for maximizing health benefits. Specifically, women may achieve substantial cardiovascular improvements with less exercise compared to men. “Compared with male individuals, females derive equivalent health benefits with only half the exercise time,” the authors write in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research. This observation could be crucial in encouraging more women to engage in regular physical activity, potentially reducing their risk of heart disease—a leading cause of death globally for women.

Findings from the UK Biobank Study

The research team, led by Dr. Jiajin Chen from Xiamen University in China, analyzed data from the UK Biobank project, focusing on middle-aged volunteers who wore activity trackers. The initial analysis of 80,243 participants without coronary heart disease showed that women who reached the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week reduced their risk of heart disease by 22% over eight years. In comparison, men who met the same target reduced their risk by only 17%.

Further analysis of the data revealed even more striking results. Women who exercised for 250 minutes each week experienced a 30% reduction in heart disease risk. For men, the same benefit was only achieved with 530 minutes of weekly exercise.

Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the study was the data from over 5,000 individuals already diagnosed with coronary heart disease. In this group, the researchers found that the risk of dying during the study period was three times lower for women who met the exercise target compared to similarly active men.

The Need for Sex-Specific Strategies in Cardiovascular Health

Prof. Yan Wang, a senior author of the paper, emphasized the significant cardiovascular benefits both men and women can gain from physical activity. He also noted that more women than men fail to meet physical activity recommendations. “We particularly hope that our findings could encourage physically inactive females to become more active, thereby reducing their cardiovascular risk,” he said.

The reasons behind the disparity in how exercise benefits men and women remain unclear, but researchers point to potential factors such as differences in sex hormones, muscle fiber composition, and the body’s ability to metabolize sugar for energy.

Moving Toward Tailored Health Guidelines

Dr. Emily Lau, a women’s cardiovascular health specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, also weighed in on the study’s implications. In an accompanying article, she called for a shift toward sex-specific health strategies. “This study provides further evidence that one size really does not fit all,” she said. “It is time to embed sex-specific strategies into guidelines and to develop tailored interventions to optimize cardiovascular health for women.”

Given the substantial health risks posed by cardiovascular disease, particularly for women, these findings are vital in ensuring that health guidelines and recommendations are as effective as possible. A more personalized approach to exercise advice could help close the gap in heart disease risk between the sexes and encourage healthier lifestyles for both men and women.