Oct 28, 2025 10:07 PM
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025...tudy-finds
INTRO: Men may need to exercise twice as much as women to achieve the same reduction in coronary heart disease risk, according to researchers, who say healthy living guidelines should take account of the sex differences.
Scientists analysed physical activity records from more than 80,000 people and found that the risk of heart disease fell 30% in women who clocked up 250 minutes of exercise each week. In contrast, men needed to reach 530 minutes, or nearly nine hours, a week to see the same effect.
The study builds on previous work that suggests women benefit more than men from the same amount of exercise, but that women are generally less physically active and less likely to meet recommended exercise targets.
Under NHS guidelines, men and women aged 16 to 64 should take at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, each week, combined with muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.
But the latest work stresses the need for tailored advice for men and women, and highlights the substantial health benefits women can achieve with only moderate amounts of exercise. Globally, one in three women die of cardiovascular disease.
“Compared with male individuals, females derive equivalent health benefits with only half the exercise time,” the authors write in Nature Cardiovascular Research. “The findings might have potential to encourage females to engage in physical activity,” they add... (MORE - details)
INTRO: Men may need to exercise twice as much as women to achieve the same reduction in coronary heart disease risk, according to researchers, who say healthy living guidelines should take account of the sex differences.
Scientists analysed physical activity records from more than 80,000 people and found that the risk of heart disease fell 30% in women who clocked up 250 minutes of exercise each week. In contrast, men needed to reach 530 minutes, or nearly nine hours, a week to see the same effect.
The study builds on previous work that suggests women benefit more than men from the same amount of exercise, but that women are generally less physically active and less likely to meet recommended exercise targets.
Under NHS guidelines, men and women aged 16 to 64 should take at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, each week, combined with muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.
But the latest work stresses the need for tailored advice for men and women, and highlights the substantial health benefits women can achieve with only moderate amounts of exercise. Globally, one in three women die of cardiovascular disease.
“Compared with male individuals, females derive equivalent health benefits with only half the exercise time,” the authors write in Nature Cardiovascular Research. “The findings might have potential to encourage females to engage in physical activity,” they add... (MORE - details)