Exercise is considered the most effective and healthiest “medicine” for the heart, but like any medicine, it also has a precise dosage. A new study reveals that this dosage is apparently different for men and women: To achieve the same reduction in the risk of heart disease, men need almost twice as much exercise time as women.
In a study conducted among more than 85,000 Britons aged 37 to 73, participants wore an accelerometer—a device that measures movement and activity level—on their wrist for a week and were followed for eight years.
The results were unequivocal: Women who performed about four hours a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity—such as brisk walking, cycling, or dancing—reduced their risk of coronary heart disease by about 30%. Men, on the other hand, needed nine hours of activity at the same intensity to achieve the same effect.
Even among those already suffering from heart disease, the gap remained: Women who devoted 51 minutes a week to activity managed to reduce their risk of death by 30%, while men needed 85 minutes to achieve the same result.
Why does this happen? The biological differences
The explanation likely lies in the hormone estrogen. In women, high levels of estrogen help maintain flexible and healthy blood vessels, support energy production in body cells, and even enable more efficient fat burning during exertion. In addition, women generally have more “slow-twitch” muscle fibers—those suited for prolonged and steady activity, the kind recommended for maintaining heart health.
It’s important to emphasize: Both men and women benefit from any additional physical activity. The study showed that as weekly activity time increased, the risk of heart disease decreased—for both genders. The only difference is the amount required to achieve the same level of protection.
The researchers emphasize that this is not a recommendation for women to “do less,” but rather an understanding that the female body may respond better to a smaller dosage of activity.
The official guidelines of the World Health Organization recommend 150 minutes of physical activity per week—without distinguishing between men and women. Now the question arises whether there is room to update the recommendations to better reflect physiological differences.