At the same level of effort, women derive much more benefit from physical activity.

Women benefit more from each minute of physical activity than men, according to a study published by the Journal Of the American College of Cardiology. Concretely, for a man and a woman who do the same amount of physical activity per week, the first would see his risk of dying drop by 15% while the second has a mortality reduced by 24%.

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To get maximum benefit for their health, men should do 300 minutes of moderate activity per week, or 5 hours... while women benefit from the same benefits with only 140 minutes per week, or 2.5 hours. Likewise, women need fewer hours of strength training than men to benefit from it. Men should practice 3 hours per week compared to 1 for women.

The explanation undoubtedly lies in physiology, suggest researchers at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The respiratory capacity of women and their muscle mass being lower than those of men, for the same physical effort, the involvement of the body is greater in women. The benefit they get from it too.

“We hope this study will help everyone, especially women, understand that they can reap tremendous benefits from exercise,” lead author Dr. Susan Cheng noted in a statement.