Human Locomotion

Ji H, Gulati M, et al. Sex differences in association of physical activity with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2024 Feb 27;83(8):783-93.

Monthly Research Articles

The authors begin this article by pointing out that even though physical activity has been proven to improve cardiovascular health and decrease all-cause mortality, women typically lag behind men when it comes to the frequency and intensity in which they exercise. They cite a recent meta-analysis from 406 countries that showed that young girls were 7% less active than boys and were less likely to participate in vigorous-intensity exercises and/or strength training. This paper is unique as it is one of the first studies to evaluate whether or not men and women require the same amounts of exercise in order to reap the significant health benefits associated with physical activity. The authors performed a prospective study of over 400,000 adults and evaluated various measures of physical activity (including frequency, duration, intensity and type) and then evaluated all-cause and cardiovascular mortality from 1997 through 2019. During the 22 year follow-up, there were approximately 40,000 all-cause deaths, including 11,700 cardiovascular deaths. Compared with inactivity, leisure-time physical activity in women produced a 24% reduction in all-cause mortality, while leisure-time physical activity in men only produced a 15% reduction in all-cause mortality. Importantly, men reached their maximum survival benefit by performing 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, whereas women achieved a similar benefit at 140 minutes per week. Male/female maximum survival rates were consistent across all measures of aerobic activity, including muscle strengthening activity. The authors conclude that women derive significantly greater gains in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality from lower doses of leisure-time physical activity. The authors state these findings could enhance efforts to close the gender gap” by motivating women to engage in as little as 20 minutes of light exercise daily.