Daily HealthBeat Tip

Women make the gains

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Men are supposed to have the big muscles. But a study finds women can make their strength grow faster.

Monica Hubal at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst had men and women work on their arms. Her study, supported by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at eight universities, was in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

Hubal says men had bigger arms � but not by all that much � largely because they started with more muscle. However, women won the most-improved trophy.

"Women far outpaced men for strength gains. The average woman gained 65 percent on a max test, which is a test where they try to lift as heavy a weight as possible just one time; whereas, men gained only about 40 percent." (11 seconds)

Hubal notes that women who build muscle can burn more calories and stay vigorous as they grow older.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: October 19, 2005

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