Women May Need Less Time Exercising Than Men to Lower Heart Risk

A new study found that women with no history of heart disease can decrease their risk of disease with about half as much exercise as men. 

A new analysis of wrist-worn activity trackers and medical records from the UK Biobank looked at more than 85,000 adults and followed them for several years; the headline result is simple: in this sample women reached the same drop in coronary heart disease risk with far fewer minutes of moderate activity per week than men — roughly 250 minutes for women versus about 530 minutes for men to get a similar ~30% reduction.

That sounds surprising until you remember two things: first, the study used objective device data (not self-reported exercise) collected in the UK Biobank project, which makes the activity measures more reliable than surveys; and second, biological differences (hormones, body composition, how tissues respond to exercise) can affect how a given “dose” of activity changes risk. The study authors and multiple news outlets emphasize that the findings are associations from observational data — they don’t mean that all men must race to gym-heavy routines, but they do suggest sex-specific responses to the same activity level.

Why exercise helps the heart: aerobic activity strengthens the heart’s pumping ability, helps reduce blood pressure, lowers inflammation, and boosts “good” HDL cholesterol — mechanisms that cut coronary risk across sexes even if the size of the benefit differs. Public health groups still recommend around 150 minutes of moderate activity per week as a baseline; this new analysis suggests that for extra coronary protection some people — on average, men in this sample — may need to push past that baseline to reach the same relative benefit.

Practical, everyday reading of the results: if your life’s schedule is jam-packed, it’s reassuring to know that steady, moderate movement really matters and that the minutes you do get are not wasted. Aim for the common baseline (about 150 minutes/week) and, where possible, build toward higher weekly totals — for many women in the study, around 250 minutes/week was linked with large reductions in coronary events, while men in the same dataset, on average, needed more minutes to hit the same relative effect. If you already have coronary disease or other medical issues, the study’s subgroup analyses suggest exercise is still beneficial but talk to your clinician about safe targets and progressions. (Nature; press summaries). 

How to make those minutes fit, without a gym membership: split activity into short chunks (10–20 minute brisk walks during breaks), swap car trips for bike rides where feasible, take stairs, walk meetings, or add a quick session of higher-effort intervals once or twice a week. These are low-cost choices that cut household transport emissions and increase active minutes at the same time — a small nudge for personal health and for sustainable daily travel. For tracking, a basic wrist activity tracker or a phone app will give you a reliable sense of weekly minutes so you can set realistic, incremental goals.

Amazon resources (these links go to Amazon’s site)

• Fitness trackers (basic wrist accelerometers)
• Chest heart-rate monitors
• Comfortable walking shoes (men & women)