While some can quit a bad habit such as smoking cold turkey or adopt something better like exercising or eating well more quickly, most struggle. It’s perfectly normal especially if you’re surrounded by people who share the same bad habits.
However, one study reveals a key secret to a healthier lifestyle and easier change in habit: a partner who does the same.
University College of London researchers conducted a massive longitudinal study on habits such as smoking and physical activity, along with weight loss. The study looked into the medical data of over 3,500 English couples around 50 years old and above. These couples are either cohabiting or married.
They discovered that while a partnered individual does have the ability to change a bad habit to something good, the chances of doing so skyrocket if they take on the journey with their partner. For example, among the subjects, about 8% were able to eventually quit smoking. But the percentage increased to almost 50% if their partners also stopped the habit.
Although the percentages differ, the same impact was seen in terms of the level of the physical activity and weight loss of the subjects. This is especially true in weight loss. Twenty-five percent of the men dropped at least 5% of their existing weight at the time when their partner also experienced weight loss.
Based on these data, it seems that the partner is also working in changing the bad habit. What if the other person is already deemed healthy? The changes are not as significant as when both are trying to achieve the same goal. Nevertheless, there are still some changes, and healthy partners can still influence the other to adopt a much better lifestyle.
As to why positive changes are more common among couples who change their lifestyle together, researchers believe that sense of competition and support play big roles.