Couple exercising
One of the best ways to get people to exercise regularly is to encourage spouses or partners to exercise together. It'll also help improve their love lives.
Couples can learn to love exercise more and stick to a regular regimen of workouts if they do it together, said a study by researchers the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Their study shows that if a spouse does more physical exercise, their partner will do likewise. Encouraging people to stay fit by exercising regularly has always been seen by the medical community and the federal government as vital to a healthy lifestyle.
The trouble is maintaining interest in an exercise regimen that goes on for months.
The study followed the physical activity of 15,792 middle-aged adults between two doctor's visits. During their first visit, couples were asked if they met the American Heart Association's exercise recommendations: 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous intensity exercise.
Forty-five percent of the husbands and 33 percent of the wives reported exercising at this level.
The question was repeated during the couples' second visit. Researchers discovered that when wives met exercise goals first, husbands were 70 percent more likely to exercise more, said CNN. On the other hand, if only 40 percent of wives were likely to meet exercise goals after their husbands did.
These results were almost similar to those of a University College London study that found almost 70 percent of couples over the age of 50 that exercised together were still doing so two years later. Only a quarter of couples who exercised separately were still working out.
"We all know how important exercise is to staying healthy," said Laura Cobb, a doctoral student and co-author of the research.
"This study tells us that one spouse could have a really positive impact on the other when it comes to staying fit and healthy for the long haul."
Cobb would like to see this research applied to exercise intervention programs by counseling married couples together, not separately.
She also said sharing stimulating activities helps improve marital satisfaction and reduce boredom. And that's good for your love life.
Just do it.
