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.

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