Updated on November 29, 2025, with new Latin American Spanish and Mandarin audio versions to help readers worldwide access this content.
Based on the study “Sex differences in the association of wearable accelerometer-derived physical activity with coronary heart disease incidence and mortality,”
Nature Cardiovascular Research, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-025-00732-z
🎧 ▶️ Press play below to listen in English.
🇪🇸 Spanish (Latinoamérica)
Este audio explica por qué el ejercicio brinda una protección cardíaca mayor en las mujeres que en los hombres, usando evidencia científica clara.
Presiona el botón de reproducir para escuchar.
🇨🇳 中文（简体）
本音频说明为什么运动能为女性带来比男性更强的心脏保护，并以清晰的科学证据为基础。
请按下方的播放按钮收听。
Heart Disease and the Gender Gap
Heart disease is still the leading cause of death worldwide.
To prevent it, the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Heart Association (AHA) recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week—about 30 minutes a day, five days a week—for everyone.
But even with these guidelines, a “gender gap” remains.
Women tend to exercise less than men, and men usually have higher exercise capacity.
Until recently, scientists weren’t sure whether both sexes benefited equally from the same amount of activity.
A new study from Nature Cardiovascular Research (2025) finally gave us some answers—and some surprising ones.
It turns out that women’s hearts may respond more efficiently to exercise than men’s.
What the Study Did
Researchers from China and the UK used data from the UK Biobank, a huge long-term health study involving over half a million adults.
For this project, they focused on:
- 80,243 adults without heart disease, to study how exercise affects heart disease risk (CHD incidence).
- 5,169 people with existing heart disease, to see how exercise affects survival.
Instead of self-reported workouts, participants wore accelerometers—like Fitbits—that objectively measured how much time they spent doing moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA).
Each person was followed for nearly eight years.
Key Findings
💓 Exercise Protects Everyone, But Women Benefit More
The good news: physical activity protected both sexes against heart disease.
The better news: women gained slightly more protection per minute of activity.
- Every 30 minutes per week of extra exercise reduced heart disease risk by
3% in women and 2% in men. - Women who met the standard 150 minutes/week target had a 22% lower risk of heart disease.
- Men who met the same target had a 17% lower risk.
So, even with the same workout time, women’s hearts improved a bit more.
How Much Is “Enough”?
You don’t have to do marathon-level workouts to get results.
Both men and women already saw most of the heart protection at the 150 minutes/week level recommended by WHO and AHA.
Researchers also explored what happens with extra activity—how much is needed for the maximum benefit before the effect levels off.
- Women reached their “peak benefit” (about 30% lower risk) with around 250 minutes/week—about 35 minutes a day.
- Men needed closer to 500 minutes/week—around 70 minutes a day—to hit the same top level.
That doesn’t mean you need to do that much.
Think of it this way:
“The first 150 minutes each week give you the biggest health boost.
Anything beyond that just adds a little extra protection.”
Among People With Heart Disease
Even for those who already had coronary heart disease, regular activity made a major difference—especially for women.
- Active women had a 70% lower risk of dying during the study.
- Active men had about a 19% lower risk.
In other words, women with heart disease who exercised had dramatically better survival odds than sedentary women, and even greater benefit than equally active men.
Why the Difference?
Scientists believe the female advantage may come from several biological factors:
- Estrogen’s Protective Effect
Estrogen helps the body burn fat more efficiently during exercise and improves blood vessel health.
Studies show it can even boost fat metabolism when given to men. - Muscle Fiber Type
Women’s muscles contain more slow-twitch (type I) fibers, which are built for endurance and use oxygen more efficiently.
Men have more fast-twitch (type II) fibers, designed for strength but less efficient for long-term aerobic activity. - Better Energy Use
Women rely more on fat as fuel, while men burn more carbohydrates during activity.
This makes women’s metabolism more suited to sustained aerobic work, like brisk walking or cycling.
These differences may explain why women’s hearts seem to get more protection with less total exercise time.
Practical Takeaways
✅ 150 minutes a week is enough for strong heart protection—for everyone.
That’s just 30 minutes a day, five days a week of brisk walking, swimming, or cycling.
✅ If you enjoy more activity, great!
Women may get slightly extra benefit up to 250 minutes a week; men up to 500. But the extra gains are modest compared with the first 150 minutes.
✅ Move most days of the week.
It’s better to spread your activity out than do it all at once.
✅ Track your progress.
Wearables (smartwatches, step counters) can help you see your daily movement and motivate you to stay consistent.
✅ Remember: consistency beats intensity.
Even household chores, gardening, or walking the dog count toward your total.
Limitations of the Study
- Most participants were white and relatively healthy, so results might differ in more diverse populations.
- The group with existing heart disease was smaller, which limited how precisely death risk could be measured.
- The study was observational, meaning it shows strong links but doesn’t prove cause and effect.
- Accelerometers can’t measure type of exercise (like resistance training).
- Lifestyle factors like diet or stress weren’t fully captured.
Still, the findings were strong and consistent across multiple statistical tests, making the results reliable and relevant.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to double or triple your workout time to protect your heart.
The first 150 minutes per week give you most of the benefit—and women seem to get even more out of it.
Move daily. Wear a smile, not a stopwatch.
Your heart—and your future self—will thank you.
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Reference:
- Chen, J., Wang, Y., Zhong, Z., et al. “Sex differences in the association of wearable accelerometer-derived physical activity with coronary heart disease incidence and mortality.” Nature Cardiovascular Research (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44161-025-00732-z
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