Key Takeaways Researchers investigated whether there are sex differences in exercise benefits in terms of reducing cardiovascular mortality (deaths from cardiovascular disease) and all-cause mortality (total number of deaths from any cause). They found that the physical activity benefits for women are greater than those for men and are hopeful that this evidence helps close the gender gap in physical activity. The following key findings are discussed below: Women who performed regular leisure-time physical activity had a 24% lower risk of all-cause mortality than women who were inactive, compared to a 15% reduction for men. They also had a 36% reduced risk of a fatal heart attack, compared to a 14% reduction for men. For women, weekly muscle–strengthening activity correlated with a 30% reduction in risk of death from heart disease, compared to an 11% risk reduction for men. Read on to learn more about how to use these findings to help motivate female clients to become more physically active.

 

We all know the weekly recommendations when it comes to cardiorespiratory exercise: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, or some combination of the two, along with two strength-training sessions, will yield “substantial health benefits.” But do we all derive the same benefits from hitting those numbers?

In an observational study supported by the National Institutes of Health, researchers evaluated whether physical activity–derived health benefits may differ by sex. The research, entitled Sex Differences in Association of Physical Activity with All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, reviewed survey data from more than 412,000 U.S. adults to determine whether the risk of death via cardiovascular disease (i.e., cardiovascular mortality) or the risk of death from any cause (i.e., all-cause mortality) were different for men and women.

What they found was that women experience more benefit from performing regular exercise than men do, and that holds true whether it’s moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise or strength training. Over the more than two decades that the surveys tracked (1997–2019), women who performed regular leisure-time physical activity (i.e., physical activity done during free time) had a 24% lower risk of all-cause mortality than women who were inactive, compared to a 15% reduction for men. They also had a 36% reduced risk of a fatal heart attack and stroke, compared to a 14% reduction for men. Finally, for women, weekly muscle-strengthening activity correlated with a 30% reduction in risk of death from heart disease, compared to an 11% risk reduction for men.

These findings were consistent across all types of activity and for various frequencies, durations and intensities of exercise.

 

A Source of Motivation

We know that exercise is good for everyone, but this research shows that, when it comes to longevity and healthspan, women may have more to gain than men from spending the same amount of time working out.

These findings may serve as a source of motivation for women who are not hitting the physical activity recommendations. The health belief model states that people’s ideas and underlying emotions about illnesses, prevention and treatment may influence health behaviors and decisions about changing (or not changing) those health behaviors. In other words, educating clients about their susceptibility to a health threat and the benefits of changing a health behavior to counter that threat may drive their decision to change.

The researchers hope that an understanding of these findings can help close what they call the “gender gap” by encouraging women to engage in more leisure-time physical activity. When it comes to understanding why this gender gap exists (that is, why women get less physical activity than men), many psychosocial factors may drive this disparity. Women tend to have lower average income levels, which may limit financial access to exercise facilities, often occupy demanding domestic roles that may reduce available time for physical activity and receive less social support for exercise from friends and family. In addition, anxiety and depression occur disproportionately in females and have been linked to low physical-activity engagement.

This gender gap was evident in the survey data from this study:

• 33% of women in the study met the standard for weekly aerobic exercise, compared to 43% of men
• 20% of women completed a weekly strength-training session, compared to 28% of men

Finding ways to close the gender gap and draw newcomers to the fitness space should be a goal for all of us working in this industry. Perhaps this type of research can provide the evidence that inspires people to get moving and change their lives in a way that dramatically improves their health and longevity.

If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of strength training for women, check out A Woman’s Guide to Gaining Muscle with Weight Training, which presents a summary of key principles, along with a sample workout.