Overview
- Women doing about 250 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week saw roughly a 30% lower coronary heart disease risk, whereas men needed around 530 minutes for a similar reduction.
- Researchers analyzed accelerometer data from more than 85,000 UK Biobank participants who wore wrist devices for one week and were followed for nearly eight years.
- A graded association showed more weekly activity linked to lower coronary heart disease risk for both sexes, indicating universal benefit even if returns per minute differ.
- Among people with established heart disease, active women had about a 70% lower risk of death compared with inactive women, versus roughly 19–20% in men, with estimates of 51 versus 85 weekly minutes for a 30% mortality reduction.
- Experts cite possible biological factors such as estrogen and muscle-fiber profiles, but stress key limits—including one-week measurement, observational design, and a non-representative cohort—before revisiting sex-neutral exercise guidelines.