Health Desk-28 Oct, 2019: Adopting a fit lifestyle might be key to living life in the best way (and actually prolong it) but it is generally presumed the gender ratio is skewed at the gym, with the most common presumption being that men are more athletic than women. Workout regimes are also seldom targeted at men, with more men coming to lift weights, build muscles and sweat it out at the gym, as compared to women.
However, a new study conducted might just make a lot of men jealous. Women, in general, are actually fitter than men.
Men are considered to be at an advantage in the workout arena because of their anatomical differences, considering factors like their size, strength, and speed, which is better than that of women. However, new research published in the journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism found out that there is one aspect which pegs women as better candidates in the play than men-they are able to process oxygen faster than men.
The research, conducted in the University of Waterloo surveyed nine men and women, who referred to themselves as "recreationally active" in their lifestyles. For the study, the participants were asked to walk on a treadmill and see results. As the men and women switched from standing to walking on the equipment, the researchers noticed the number of oxygen people used and the time it took them to perfectly adapt to the activity.
Upon analysis, it was found that while men took an average of 42 seconds to adapt and switch into the workout mode, women were able to do the same in lesser time, around 30 seconds. Women consistently outperformed men with around 30 percent faster oxygen handling throughout the body.
It was also found that women were able to use the oxygen levels in the body to charge and power their muscles in a quicker and efficient way, making them rely less on the anaerobic energy which spikes up the lactic acid production levels in the bloodstream. This further implied that women were also less likely to feel muscle soreness, breathing troubles and poor athletic performance, which are usually associated with a heavy-duty workout. Men, on the other hand, accounted for both of these factors.