Im Durchschnitt hatten Frauen eine geringere Fitness (VO2peak-Werte) als Männer. Erwachsene in Ländern mit höherer menschlicher Entwicklung und geringerer Geschlechterungleichheit hatten jedoch ein höheres Fitnessniveau. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass soziale Strukturen, die Gleichberechtigung und Entwicklung fördern, es mehr Frauen ermöglichen könnten, Sport zu treiben.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254625000808

From the linked article:

Study finds stronger fitness in countries with greater gender equality

A new study published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science provides evidence that cardiorespiratory fitness tends to be higher in countries with greater gender equality and higher levels of human development. The findings suggest that social conditions and national policies may shape people’s access to physical activity and their ability to maintain physical health.

The final dataset included over 119,000 adults, with roughly 58 percent men and 42 percent women. The participants came from a diverse group of countries including the United States, Brazil, Germany, China, and Japan. Each study was matched with the relevant Human Development Index and Gender Inequality Index scores for the country and year in which data were collected.

The researchers found that fitness tends to decrease with age and that, **on average, women had lower VO2peak values than men. However, when comparing countries, they noticed a pattern: adults in countries with higher levels of human development and lower levels of gender inequality had higher fitness levels**.

The relationship between development and fitness was especially pronounced among women. Women living in countries with high human development scores had higher VO2peak levels across all age groups. For men, this trend was mainly observed in those under 40 years old. This suggests that women may benefit more from living in supportive and equitable societies when it comes to maintaining physical fitness.

A similar pattern emerged when looking at gender inequality. In countries with less gender inequality, both men and women had higher cardiorespiratory fitness, but the effect was again stronger for women. The difference was most notable among women under 40. Young women living in countries with low gender inequality had fitness levels that were on average 6.5 mL/kg/min higher than those in countries with high gender inequality. This difference is large enough to matter for health, as even small increases in VO2peak are linked with reduced risks of chronic disease and early death.

**These results suggest that policies and social structures that promote equality and development may indirectly support better health by enabling more people, especially women, to engage in regular and vigorous physical activity**.

More developed economies have more time for fitness? Did someone really pay for that study?

Getting tired by the end of the day of “trad wife” will not get your VO2max go higher.