Men need twice as much exercise as women to lower heart disease risk, study finds
Men may need to exercise twice as much as women to achieve the same reduction in coronary heart disease risk, according to researchers, who say healthy living guidelines should take account of the sex differences.Scientists analysed physical activity records from more than 80,000 people and found that the risk of heart disease fell 30% in women who clocked up 250 minutes of exercise each week.In contrast, men needed to reach 530 minutes, or nearly nine hours, a week to see the same effect.The study builds on previous work that suggests women benefit more than men from the same amount of exercise, but that women are generally less physically active and less likely to meet recommended exercise targets.Under NHS guidelines, men and women aged 16 to 64 should take at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, each week, combined with muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.
But the latest work stresses the need for tailored advice for men and women, and highlights the substantial health benefits women can achieve with only moderate amounts of exercise,Globally, one in three women die of cardiovascular disease,“Compared with male individuals, females derive equivalent health benefits with only half the exercise time,” the authors write in Nature Cardiovascular Research,“The findings might have potential to encourage females to engage in physical activity,” they add,Dr Jiajin Chen at Xiamen University in China and his colleagues analysed data from activity trackers worn by middle-aged volunteers enrolled in the UK Biobank project.
They first looked at 80,243 participants who did not have coronary heart disease.In this group, women who met the 150-minute weekly exercise target had a 22% lower risk of developing heart disease over eight years of follow-up, compared with those who did not.For men, the risk was 17% lower.Further analysis showed that women could reduce their heart disease risk by 30% through exercising for 250 minutes a week, a benefit men only achieved on reaching 530 minutes of physical activity each week.The most striking result emerged from data on more than 5,000 men and women who already had coronary heart disease.
Here, the researchers found that the risk of dying during the follow-up period was three times lower for women who met the weekly exercise target than for similarly active men.Prof Yan Wang, a senior author on the paper, said the work showed both sexes could gain “substantial cardiovascular benefits” from physical activity and recommended everyone, regardless of their sex, to take regular exercise.But he added that, globally, more women than men were not meeting physical activity targets.“We particularly hope that our findings could encourage physically inactive females to become more active, thereby reducing their cardiovascular risk,” he said.It is unclear why exercise may benefit women more than men, but scientists point to differences in sex hormones, muscle fibres and the ability to break down sugar to produce energy as potential factors.
In an accompanying article, Dr Emily Lau, a women’s cardiovascular health specialist at Massachusetts General hospital, writes: “This study provides further evidence that one size really does not fit all and challenges us to move from conversation to action.It is time to embed sex-specific strategies into guidelines and to develop tailored interventions to optimise cardiovascular health for women.”
CSL share price plummets amid shareholder revolt over executive pay plans
The Australian biotech company CSL has been delivered a “second strike” by shareholders over its executive pay plans, but has survived a push to spill its board.Amid frustration over its depressed share price, which fell even further on Tuesday, the blood plasma therapy firm saw more than 40% of votes cast against its executive pay plans at its annual general meeting in Melbourne on Tuesday.The result was well above the 25% threshold required to trigger a “strike”, the company’s second in a row.Despite hitting the two-strikes trigger – which opened the door for a board spill resolution – shareholders voted overwhelmingly against removing the board of the former commonwealth entity –.“We passed that hurdle,” said the CSL chair, Brian McNamee, in reaction to the spill vote
RBA governor dismisses jobs fears but hints at rates hold after inflation uptick
The Reserve Bank governor has dismissed warnings of rising unemployment and hinted at an interest rate hold, saying the labour market will not “fall off a cliff”.Michele Bullock said the RBA had been surprised by September’s jump in joblessness and an uptick in inflation but emphasised job creation was slowing broadly as the RBA expected.“There are still jobs being created, just not as many,” Bullock said on Monday night.“We’d always thought [unemployment] would drift up a bit. Maybe it’s drifted up a bit further than we thought, but it’s not a huge amount yet
Ultra-HD televisions not noticeably better for typical viewer, scientists say
Many modern living rooms are now dominated by a huge television, but researchers say there might be little point in plumping for an ultra-high-definition model.Scientists at the University of Cambridge and Meta, the company that owns Facebook, have found that for an average-sized living room a 4K or 8K screen offers no noticeable benefit over a similarly sized 2K screen of the sort often used in computer monitors and laptops. In other words, there is no tangible difference when it comes to how sharp an image appears to our eyes.“At a certain viewing distance, it doesn’t matter how many pixels you add. It’s just, I suppose, wasteful because your eye can’t really detect it,” said Dr Maliha Ashraf, the first author of the study from the University of Cambridge
Apple Watch Ultra 3 review: the biggest and best smartwatch for an iPhone
The biggest, baddest and boldest Apple Watch is back for its third generation, adding a bigger screen, longer battery life and satellite messaging for when lost in the wilderness.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Ultra 3 is Apple’s answer to adventure watches such as Garmin’s Fenix 8 Pro while being a full smartwatch for the iPhone with all the trimmings
F1 title run-in: who will win the drivers’ championship in three-way tussle? | Giles Richards
Ordinarily at this point in the Formula One season, form has been settled. This year, with four meetings remaining, the title run-in reaches its decisive phase with a three-way fight between the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Divining the outcome is a decidedly tricky affair.As recently as the Dutch GP in August it appeared a two-way battle between the McLaren drivers would decide it. However, with Red Bull managing to apply upgrades that have unlocked the performance of the RB21, the equation is far more complex
George Ford in line to beat Fin Smith for England fly-half berth against Australia
George Ford is likely to start at fly-half when England begin their autumn internationals campaign against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.The Sale Sharks No 10 enjoyed an outstanding summer tour with Steve Borthwick’s side, helping to orchestrate two victories against Argentina and one against the USA, and appears to have stated a strong case for selection.Fin Smith, whose Northampton side top the Prem table after five rounds, became established as the first-choice fly-half during the Six Nations this year before embarking on the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.However, along with his playing ability, the 32-year-old Ford’s tactical expertise is highly valued in the England camp, and if he starts on Saturday it could indicate Borthwick regards him as first-choice for the Rugby World Cup in 2027.The 23-year-old Smith and the first-choice scrum-half Alex Mitchell play together for Northampton but Ford, who has 102 England caps, brings a different set of skills with his perceptive tactical kicking and threat of drop-goals
UK reportedly faces more than £20bn hit from steeper productivity downgrade, fuelling tax rise speculation – business live
After my car was damaged in a Tesco car wash it has washed its hands of my complaint
More than a million people every week show suicidal intent when chatting with ChatGPT, OpenAI estimates
Amazon plans to cut 30,000 corporate jobs in response to pandemic overhiring
Freeman’s walk-off homer lifts Dodgers over Blue Jays in 18-inning World Series epic
Socceroos fans divided over new FA+ paid membership offering fast access to World Cup tickets