We have always been advised to lead an active lifestyle incorporating both cardiovascular and strength training workouts into a regular exercise routine. However, women may have more to gain than men from exercise finds a recently concluded observational study by the US-based National Heart, Lungs and Blood Institute (NIH).
The study published in the Journal Of The American College Of Cardiology ,which was conducted for over two decades (1997-2019) with more than 4,00,000 participants aged between 27 to 61 years, found that women who did the same set of physical activities as men, ran a lower risk of premature deaths and fatal cardiovascular incidents. During the study, a total of 39, 935 participants died out of which 11, 670 were due to cardiovascular issues.
Why women benefit more from exercise than men?
The study states that the anatomical differences between men and women are one of the reasons why they benefit more from exercise.
“It is easier for men to perform physical activities at a certain intensity because men have large muscle fibers, heart and lungs which increases the capacity to inhale more air as compared to women,” says Prashant Singh Shakya, an exercise physiologist and sports scientist at Grand Slam Fitness and Fit India Trust, Delhi.
But females have a quicker adaptation to physical stress.
“If we look at both men and women who are performing the same set of physical activity, the physiological stress on females will be more,” adds Shakya. “This is because women have smaller hearts, lungs, and less muscle mass. And when their body undergoes physical stress, it adapts quickly to it.”
The study further mentions that women have lower muscle strength but when they undergo strength training, the relative improvement in strength is higher in females. They benefit even if they engage in just a single strengthening session per week compared to men who need a minimum of three sessions. In addition, women also have a higher density of capillaries (tiny blood vessels) per unit of skeletal muscle, which allows a higher blood and oxygen flow to the heart during exercise.
Mortality reduction greater in women compared to men
The research observes that there is a reduced risk of premature death incidents among women regardless of the type of physical activity. Both male and female participants in the study exercised for 300 minutes per week, which included moderate to vigorous physical activities such as brisk walking, jumping rope, and strength training including body weight exercises.
At the end of the research, after undergoing the same degree of regular exercise, a 24% reduction in mortality was recorded in women, which is much higher than in men who recorded an 18% mortality reduction.
Women can have greater gains from exercising and such research have the potential to motivate efforts for reducing the gender gap in terms of pursuing fitness. This can be done by encouraging women to engage in regular physical activity which should have an appropriate mixture of cardiovascular and strength training routines.
Women are also prone to heart attack, especially after menopause and by incorporating a regular exercise routine, they can reduce the risk of cardiovascular ailments.
So, ladies what are you waiting for, start exercising.
Takeaways
- Research by US-based National Heart, Lungs and Blood Institute (NIH). concludes that a 24% reduction in mortality for women and an 18% reduction in men who underwent the same degree of regular exercise.
- Women have a high density of capillaries (tiny blood vessels) per unit of skeletal muscles which allows a higher blood and oxygen flow to the heart.
- Due to smaller heart, lungs and less muscle mass, the physiological stress caused due to exercise is more in women than men, leading to faster adaptation.
