How Much Exercise Per Week? Recommended Physical Activity for Women, Weight Loss and Your Fitness Goals

How Much Exercise Per Week?

Recommended physical activity for women: suggested exercise for women, weight loss and fitness goals.

There are many reasons health, fitness, and nutrition are important to women. But how much weekly physical activity is medically recommended for better health?

♥ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women engage in at least 2.5 hours of moderate intensity exercise each week. Why? Because research has proven that regular exercise combined with a well-balanced diet lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer and colon cancer, as well as obesity. Additionally, certain health conditions affect women more adversely than men.

Women's Health Research

Women's Health Research and Recommended Physical Activity

♥ According to The Society for Women's Health Research group (SWHR), there are many crucial differences between men and women regarding health. And the list does not make for particularly happy reading. For instance, the groundbreaking SWHR-sponsored report entitled Exploring the Biological Contribution to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?, published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2001, concluded that:

♥ Heart disease claims the lives of 50,000 more American women than men annually.

♥ 80% of the population with osteoporosis is women.

♥ Women are 2-3 times more likely to have been diagnosed with depression than men.

♥ Smoking has a more negative effect on cardiovascular health in women than men.

♥ HIV is among the top 10 leading causes of death for all U.S. women aged between 25-54 and is the leading cause of death for African American women aged 25-34.

♥ 3 out of 4 people suffering from multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus are women.

♥ Pain conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine, and osteoarthritis (after age 45) are more common in women than men.

♥ 40,000 more women have been diagnosed with stroke than men each year.

Obesity Risks

Obesity and Related Risks for Women

As well as this, says the SWHR, you also have the fact that it is more common for women to be obese than men, which is due to changes in hormones during pregnancy and menopause.

Being obese puts a woman at risk of all sorts of problems including diabetes, some cancers, and causes complications for those who are hoping to become pregnant.

Eating disorders are much more common in women than men, too, with millions of American girls and women suffering from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, and research has shown that 4 out of 5 American women are dissatisfied with their appearance at some time in their life.

So, what does all this add up to?

The Summary

Summary of How Much Weekly Exercise

♥ Obviously, keeping fit and healthy is as important, if not more so, for women when compared to men given the findings of this IOM study.

♥ The bottom line (if you forgive the weight loss pun) is that women who exercise and eat healthfully will live longer.

♥ Research in general has proven time and again that regular exercise with a well-balanced diet lowers the risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer and colon cancer, as well as tackling questions of overweight and obesity.

Again, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women should engage in at least 2.5 hours of moderate intensity exercise a week, and the team at changingshape.com can show you exactly how that can be arranged.

Your Needs

How Much Weekly Exercise Can Help You?

Focusing on the individual needs and circumstances of both men and women, changingshape.com can formulate the diet and fitness plan to suit everyone's personal situation.

Changingshape.com recognizes that we are all unique with different lifestyles, so attention to detail and personal preference of those joining the ever-growing list of members is of utmost importance to the changingshape.com nutritionists and fitness coaches.

If you are a woman concerned about their health and fitness, then you have come to the right place - for within minutes changingshape.com can help you live longer, and live healthier.

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The Best Fitness Plan App

Using the latest science and research, the team at changingshape.com offers plans developed by certified nutrition and fitness professionals. Join the changingshape.com calorie counter app free today.