Women have to work harder than men to lose weight!

When it comes to exercise the fairer sex have to work out more than their partners. According to scientists, to get the same health benefits as men, women have to do a lot more exercise. Obese men and women were put on the same fitness programme by scientists at the University of Missouri. It was found that men reaped significantly more benefits. Also, while exercise alone might be enough for men to lose weight, women must also modify their diet to get the same results.

Heart rate and blood pressure of nearly 75 obese men and women with Type 2 diabetes were monitored by, Professor Jill Kanaley and her colleagues during the study. They were asked to follow a programme of aerobic (i.e. cardiovascular) exercise for 16 weeks. Based on each individual's ability they worked at an effort of 65 per cent. The researchers found that though everyone exercised at relatively the same speed, men got far more benefit from the exercise than women. The study was published in the journal Metabolism.

According to Jill Kanaley the results indicate that gender may contribute to differences in cardiovascular function of obese individuals with Type 2 diabetes. To reap the benefits of exercise obese women with Type 2 diabetes need longer durations or higher intensities of exercise.
In addition, Kanaley said more concern should be placed on how long it takes cardiovascular function to return to normal after exercise as well as how fast the heart beats during physical exertion. She says that it is as important to monitor heart recovery rates as it is to monitor how high individuals` heart rates get during exercise. Blood pressure rise during exercise, but it should return to normal relatively quickly after stopping exercise. The study found that the recovery rate for women was not as rapid as for men.

Why is it so?

The main reason for this is body composition. Dr Chris Easton, a lecturer in clinical exercise psychology at the University of West Scotland says that men have a higher proportion of muscle than women, and muscle has a higher metabolic rate than fat. He also states that even when they are resting, men burn more calories than women indicating that women have to look at their diet as well, whereas men may be able to get by on exercise alone. He notes that woman would effectively need to work at around 85 per cent effort - or work out for longer to get the same effect as a man working at 65 per cent effort. He added that since men have larger hearts and lungs and a higher proportion of haemoglobin they naturally have an advantage when it comes to fitness.

There are high mortality rates with Type 2 diabetes, especially for women. Based on these findings health providers and researchers can develop targeted exercise interventions for obese women.

Also read: Why women need weight training