Boost your well-being: New research shows women can achieve optimal health with just 2.5 hours of exercise a week. Find out why this efficient approach is a game-changer, offering insights into gender-specific benefits and empowering women to maximize their fitness outcomes.
This research might encourage more women to exercise on a regular basis. According to a US study, women who exercise less frequently each week have the same health advantages as males. The study, which included 400,000 US people, also discovered that fewer women achieved the recommended number of weekly strength and aerobic exercise sessions.
This is a really encouraging discovery that ought to motivate all women to make the time to work out. Furthermore, women are the breadwinners in our families, so if she succeeds, the entire family would probably follow suit, adds Dr. Rakesh Yadav, an AIIMS cardiac professor.
Why is regular exercise more likely to help women?
According to the researchers, physiologic variations may account for the greater degree of effect in women. According to the scientists, this could be because men’s hearts, lungs, and muscle fibers are proportionally larger than women’s, giving them a higher capacity for activity. Men have 38% greater lean body mass than women on average. This basically indicates that women get more benefits from the same actions since their hearts, muscles, and airways have to work more to do them.
According to the research, women may lose more muscle when they don’t use it, but they may also profit more from it because of the differences in muscle composition between men and women.
“The benefit observed in the study may also stem from the fact that women who work out regularly are more likely to lead healthier lifestyles, be less likely to smoke and drink, and eat a healthier diet,” says Dr. Yadav. Everything fits together nicely.
What was discovered by the study?
Men’s all-cause mortality decreased by 19% with roughly two hours of strenuous physical exercise each week, whereas women had a similar effect with somewhat less than an hour of exertion. Women who engaged in intense physical activity for over two hours had a 24% lower chance of dying from all causes as compared to non-exercisers.
On the other hand, the survey discovered that just 19.9% of women and 27.8% of men regularly exercised their muscles. Women also had an average of 0.85 sessions each week compared to men’s 1.25 sessions, which is a decrease in session count.
Five hours a week of moderate-to-intense physical activity was the highest advantage men might receive from it in terms of longevity; it reduced their risk of all-cause death by 18% compared to those who did not exercise. Even with just 2.5 hours of moderate-to-intense exercise each week, women had comparable advantages. The study indicated that if they lived longer, their all-cause mortality may drop by as much as 24%.
How many hours a week should you ideally exercise?
According to Dr. Yadav, everyone, including women, should exercise for 40 to 45 minutes each day. It is imperative that folks start off slowly. They shouldn’t start doing intense exercises like lifting weights or sprinting right away after years of inactivity. Appropriate training is necessary for these operations. However, walking is simple and healthy for people of all ages. You may sprint a minute and walk five minutes at the same time. Even though they might not be able to sprint, older people can still stroll, the man noted.
He offers yoga advice as well. “I usually advise my patients to do yoga, stretching, or the type of physical education we had in schools to ensure that all of their joints are moving at least once a day.
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