It’s bad news for women who work out with their partners.
Scientists have discovered that when it comes to the benefits of exercise, the odds appear to be firmly stacked against the fairer sex.
New research suggests that women have to do a lot more exercise to get the same health benefits as men, in terms of both diet and fitness.
Scientists at the University of Missouri who put obese men and women on the same fitness programme found men reaped significantly more benefits.
And experts are now warning that while exercise alone might be enough for men to lose weight, women must also address their diet to get the same results.
During the study, Professor Jill Kanaley and her colleagues looked at the heart rate and blood pressure of nearly 75 obese men and women with Type 2 diabetes.
They all followed a programme of aerobic (i.e. cardiovascular) exercise for 16 weeks. They all worked at an effort of 65 per cent, which was worked out based on each individual’s ability.
Despite everyone exercising at relatively the same speed, the researchers found that men got far more benefit from the exercise than women.
Over the 16 weeks, women’s recovery time did not improve, whereas men’s did, indicating their fitness had improved. They also lost more weight.
Commenting on the study, Dr Chris Easton, a lecturer in clinical exercise psychology at the University of West Scotland, told MailOnline: ‘This adds to a growing body of evidence that men and women respond to exercise in different ways.
‘One main reason for this is body composition – men have a higher proportion of of muscle of women – and muscle has a higher metabolic rate than fat.