It is known that exercising regularly reduces the risk of death, especially due to heart problems. But scientists have discovered that this risk reduction can differ among the sexes, and some people get greater benefits in less training time.
So who has to exercise more to reduce your risk of death: women or men?
It turns out that women can reap these survival benefits more easily than men. That is according to a great study published in 2024 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologythat included data of more than 412,000 American adults from 27 to 61 years, 55% of whom were women.
“The beauty of this study is to learn that women can obtain more than every minute of moderate to vigorous activity than men,” co-leader of the study. Dr. Martha GulatiDirector of Preventive Cardiology at the SMIDT Heart Institute in CEDARS-SINAI, he said in a statement. “It is an incentive notion that we hope women take seriously.”
The researchers gathered physical activity data from the participants through the National Health Interviews Survey (NHIS), the largest and largest health survey in the United States, the study analyzed the data collected between 1997 and 2017.
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The survey itself included questions about the types of exercises that people performed and in what frequencies, durations and intensities. It also included socio -economic and demographic characteristics of participants and medical conditions. The study excluded people who had certain health conditions at the beginning of the study period, such as coronary heart disease or cancer.
The researchers also looked through National Death Index -A National Database of Death Records-For any cause, as well as cardiovascular deaths. The data of the survey participants are Linked to these death registration dataSo researchers could connect the data of their NHIS participants to mortality data until the end of 2019. In general, 39,935 participants died within the study period, including 11,670 deaths related to cardiovascular, such as heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
About 32% of women and 43% of the men surveyed said they dedicated themselves to aerobic exerciseExercise for at least 150 minutes per week. Compared to same -sex inactive people, women who exercise regularly had a risk of death of 24% lower for any cause. However, for men who regularly exercised, the reduction in the risk of mortality reached only 15%.
Women also obtained these survival benefits much faster than men, according to the study. In men, the greatest reduction in the risk of death was observed in approximately 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week. That came with a 18% reduction in mortality from all causes. Women saw an equal benefit in less than half of that time, about 140 minutes from MVPA per week.
The women who trained more than that every week saw a greater benefit until they also reached their maximum point in about 300 minutes of weekly MVPA.
That trend remained certain in all the durations of the exercise, discovered that researchers, and women see “proportionally greater benefits” for any amount of exercise than men.
About 20% of women and 28% of men said they participated in two or more strength training sessions, such as lifting weights, every week. In general, however, women reported an average of approximately 0.85 sessions per week, while men averaged 1.25 sessions per week.
On average, women who trained with force at least twice a week had a 19% lower mortality risk than women who trained less frequently or not. The men, on average, saw a 11% lower risk compared to inactive men.
These benefits were even greater when it came to cardiovascular health specifically.
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Compared to inactive people, women who carried out aerobic physical activity had a risk of 36% lower cardiovascular mortality, while for active men, this risk reduction was approximately 14%. Muscle strengthening produced similar results, with a reduction in cardiovascular risk of 30% for women and 11% for men, compared to the baseline.
“What surprised us most was the fact that women who do muscle strengthening had a reduction in their cardiovascular mortality by 30%.” Gulati told NPR. “We don’t have many things that reduce mortality in that way,” he added.
The study had some limitations, including that people’s exercise data were self -informed, so it was based on participants who accurately reported their activity levels. The study also tracked only the exercise in leisure time, which means that it did not tell the year completed during household chores or as part of a job, which may also have contributed to the results. In addition, the study did not take into account health problems potentially without evaluating in some participants, or changes in the tendencies of the exercise of people over time.
That said, the results echo similar findings of a meta -analysis of 2011 published in the magazine Circulation. This review of 33 studies concluded that there was a stronger bond between exercise and the least risk of death in women than in men.
Researchers behind the 2024 study expect their findings to help motivate more women to exercise, either through the traditional “cardio“Or muscle strengthening regimes, including Body weight exercises or lift weights.
“I am hope that this pioneer research motivates women who currently do not participate in regular physical activities to understand that they are in a position to obtain a great benefit for each increase in regular exercise that can invest in their long -term health.” Dr. Christine AlbertPresident of the Department of Cardiology of the SMIDT Heart Institute that did not participate in the study, he said in the statement.
This article is only for informative purposes and is not intended to offer medical or physical conditioning advice.
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