Study: Higher fitness levels linked to gender equality and development
Higher fitness levels linked to gender equality and human development in global study.
Why it matters
- Cardiorespiratory fitness is crucial for long-term health.
- Societal factors like gender equality and human development significantly influence fitness levels.
- Policies promoting equality may indirectly support better health by enabling more physical activity, especially for women.
By the numbers
- Dataset included over 119,000 adults from various countries.
- 58% men and 42% women participants.
- Women in low gender inequality countries had fitness levels 6.5 mL/kg/min higher than those in high inequality countries.
The big picture
- Social conditions and national policies shape access to physical activity.
- Women benefit more from supportive and equitable societies in maintaining fitness.
- The study highlights the importance of addressing societal barriers to improve public health.
What they're saying
- Some find the study obvious, questioning its necessity.
- Others see it as logical, linking equality to more opportunities for physical activity.
- Some criticism about the study's relevance and methodology.
Caveats
- Limited data from low development countries.
- Lack of demographic details like race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background.
- Exclusion of studies with indirect fitness measurements may limit diversity of data.
What’s next
- Collect more data from underrepresented populations and countries.
- Investigate specific social policies that might improve fitness, especially for women and vulnerable groups.