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UK Wedding News

20/01/2015

Couples More Likely To Get Healthy Together

A new study has found that couples are more likely to live a healthier lifestyle if they get healthy together.

The research, conducted by University College London and funded by Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, and the National Institute on Ageing, couples who undertake a healthy regime together, are more likely to succeed and get healthy, than those who try to go it alone.

For the study, the team looked at how likely a person was to quit smoking, exercise or lose weight in relation to what their partner did – and they found that those individuals were more successful when it came to exchanging their bad habits for good ones.

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One example the scientists found was of the women who smoked, 50% managed to quit when their partner gave up smoking at the same time. Just 17% of women, whose partners were already non-smokers, were able to quit, while 8% were able to stop the habit if their other half was a regular smoker.

Similarly with men, they too were more likely to stop smoking, lose weight or do more exercise if their partner adopted the same changes in life.

Dr Sarah Jackson, lead author of the study at UCL, is quoted as saying: "Now is the time to make New Year's resolutions to quit smoking, take exercise, or lose weight. And doing it with your partner increases your chances of success."

Professor Jane Wardle, director of Cancer Research UK's Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London and one of the study authors, added: "Unhealthy lifestyles are a leading cause of death from chronic disease worldwide.

"The key lifestyle risks are smoking, excess weight, physical inactivity, poor diet, and alcohol consumption. Swapping bad habits for good ones can reduce the risk of disease, including cancer."

More than 3,700 married or cohabiting couples, over the age of 50 and who were taking part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, were the focus of the research.

(JP/CD)

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"A new study has found that couples are more likely to live a healthier lifestyle if they get healthy together."