Spouses Often Mirror Each Other's Health Habits

If one spouse exercises, quits smoking, stops drinking alcohol, receives a flu shot, or undergoes a cholesterol screening, the other spouse is more likely to do the same, according to a new study in Health Services Research.

"We found that when one spouse improves his or her health behavior, the other spouse was likely to do so as well," said co-author Jody Sindelar, health economist and public health professor in the Yale School of Public Health.

"This was consistent across all the behaviors analyzed and was similar among both males and females."

For example, smokers were more than 5 times more likely to quit smoking if their spouse quit, when controlling for other relevant factors.

Similarly, spouses were five times more likely to quit drinking alcohol if their partner didn't drink.

The changes were less apparent in clinician-directed preventive behavior, such as obtaining cholesterol screening.

They said attempts to change behavior may be enhanced, or thwarted, by the behavior of family members, especially spouses.

For this reason, they said, intervention programs should include tips about how to get the other spouse involved in exercise or help reduce tobacco cues.

The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute on Aging.

Alvaro Castillo has been researching on healthy parenting for many years. Check his website for more information in www.myhomeparent.com