Married Couples Share Risk Factors
Study of more than 5,000 couples shows partners influence each other’s behavior.
Trainers may want to propose small-group personal training for married couples, as it turns out that nearly 80% of them share heart disease risk factors and behaviors, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open (2020; 3 [10], e2020119).
Harvard University researchers studied 5,364 partners who participated in an employee wellness program. Investigators looked at behaviors and risk factors and found that 79% fell into the “nonideal” category for cardiovascular health, with most also eating unhealthy diets and not exercising enough.
“We expected to see some shared risk factors, but it was a surprise to see that the vast majority of couples were in a nonideal category for overall cardiovascular health,” says study author Samia Mora, MD, MHS, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Divisions of Preventive Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine.
See also: Weight Loss Runs in the Family
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
