Women May Reap The Same Exercise Benefits As Men In Less Time

"How often should I work out?" is a question arguably every person asks when embarking on a fitness journey. While the CDC recommends moderate-intensity exercise for around 150 minutes a week1, there's much more nuance to consider.

A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that women who exercised regularly had a 24% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 36% lower risk of cardiovascular events2 like heart attack and stroke compared to sedentary women. For men, those same stats were just 15% and 14%.

In this study, researchers reviewed two decades of data from 400,000 men and women in the United States, reaching a larger sample size than many previous studies done on exercise benefits by sex.

But what's causing this gap? The researchers delved into why men typically show greater exercise capacity than women, citing factors like larger hearts, wider lung airways, and more muscle mass. 

Interestingly, even though women generally start with lower muscle strength, engaging in strength training leads to more significant relative improvements in strength, a crucial factor for predicting mortality, they add.

The study also notes age-related nuances, with the benefits for women seeming to take a dip in older age, possibly around the menopausal transition.

At the end of the day, there's an important underlying message that shouldn't get lost here: Exercise can extend your life and protect your heart—and it doesn't have to be a full-time commitment. Hopefully, this takeaway can make starting or progressing a fitness routine a little less intimidating.