A new study reveals that men over 50 must exercise nearly twice as much as women to achieve similar reductions in coronary heart disease risk. Using data from activity trackers, researchers found significant sex differences in exercise benefits for heart health. The findings suggest a need for updated, gender-specific health guidelines.
An analysis of wrist-worn activity tracker data from the UK Biobank study, involving over 80,000 adults aged around 61 with no prior coronary heart disease (CHD), showed that 150 minutes of weekly moderate to vigorous exercise—like brisk walking or cycling—linked to a 22% drop in CHD risk for women, compared to 17% for men. To reach a 30% risk reduction, women needed 250 minutes per week, while men required 530 minutes—nearly nine hours.
The researchers, led by Jiajin Chen at Xiamen University in China, examined health records over about eight years. In a separate group of 5,169 participants already diagnosed with CHD (average age 67, two-thirds men), 150 minutes of weekly exercise reduced mortality risk by 70% for women but only 20% for men over the next eight years.
"This isn’t bad news for men, it’s just something we should know about," says Nir Eynon at Monash University, Australia. "Once we know, we can do better—we can do more exercise."
Possible reasons include hormonal differences, such as oestrogen enhancing fat burning in women, or biological variations in respiratory, metabolic, and muscular efficiency. The study, published in Nature Cardiovascular Research (DOI: 10.1038/s44161-025-00732-z), is described as "robust" by Ersilia DeFilippis at Columbia University, emphasizing sex-specific guidelines. However, it draws from a mostly white, well-educated UK population, limiting applicability to diverse groups with higher cardiovascular burdens. Even so, it highlights benefits of exercise later in life, tailored to individual capacities.