A new study published Monday finds that women get more bang for their buck when they exercise.
The researchers discovered that women required just under 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity per week to achieve the same “survival benefit” as men with five hours of physical activity. According to the study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, women who engaged in regular physical activity had a 24% lower mortality risk compared to men.
Researchers examined health data collected from 412,413 adults in the United States from 1997 to 2019. By the end of the study, 39,935 adults had died, with 11,670 being cardiovascular deaths.
The researchers stated that the study had a “observational design,” which meant they couldn’t be certain that the exercise was causing the reduced risk. They also noted that the data they analysed was self-reported and did not account for differences in household activities.
Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who was not involved in the new study, described the new findings as “intriguing,” but emphasised the limitations of observational studies.
