Your Cart is Empty
A recent study reveals that men may require nearly double the weekly exercise compared to women to gain equivalent heart health benefits. As researchers have increasingly scrutinized the optimal exercise levels for meaningful outcomes, this new evidence highlights a striking gender disparity. Men must exert twice the effort to match women's cardiovascular disease prevention.
This discovery underscores significant sex-specific variations in exercise's impact on cardiovascular health. While the standard recommendation is at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity weekly, women achieved substantial risk reduction with about 250 minutes, whereas men required roughly 530 minutes for comparable protection.
Researchers examined data from over 85,000 U.K. Biobank participants to identify sex-based differences in physical activity and coronary heart disease risk. Activity levels were captured via wearable accelerometers worn by participants for one week.
Participants, free of coronary heart disease at baseline, were tracked for nearly eight years to assess heart disease onset and mortality. Among those with prior heart disease, women who exercised faced a threefold lower death risk than men with comparable conditions.
The study shows that while exercise protects both sexes, men must maintain far greater physical activity to match the cardiovascular benefits women gain. Moreover, among those with existing heart disease, men needed substantially more exercise than women to achieve comparable reductions in mortality risk.
Clear sex differences exist in how exercise influences disease risk, likely driven by variations in hormones and body composition. Women’s higher circulating estrogen promotes greater fat loss during activity, enabling stronger cardiovascular gains.
This study provides a glimpse into exercise’s role in heart health and reinforces that any activity beats none. Consider it preventive medicine for your heart.
To view the original scientific study click below:
Sex differences in the association of wearable accelerometer-derived physical activity with coronary heart disease incidence and mortality
Recent research reveals that constipation is linked to a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes, with the danger escalating significantly in individuals who also suffer from high blood pressure. These findings underscore the importance of viewing constipation not merely as a digestive problem, but as a potential cardiovascular risk factor requiring serious attention.
Microplastics have become inescapable. We're ingesting them through food and water, and even inhaling them daily. These tiny fossil-fuel-based particles, smaller than 5 mm, have now been detected deep inside human bones, cartilage, and spinal discs. A recent study reveals that microplastics can penetrate bone tissue, including the marrow, where they may disrupt metabolic processes and harm skeletal health.
Ultra-processed foods now make up nearly 60% of calories in the average U.S. adult's diet. These highly manufactured items are increasingly dominating American eating habits. A major U.S. cohort study involving over 100,000 participants, found that those with the highest intake of ultra-processed foods had a 41% greater risk of lung cancer compared to those with the lowest intake.