The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, set by the US Department of Health and Human Services, say that healthy adults should get 75-150 minutes of aerobic activity per week, depending on its intensity. As of 2012, though, less than 50 percent of adults in the U.S. were actually working out that much.

 

New studies, led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD, suggest that if one spouse increases their weekly activity levels, the other spouse will do the same. The study is based on the medical records of 3,261 married couples in the U.S. Starting in the late 80s, the couples would go for two medical visits, six years apart. The physical activity levels were measured and recorded for both parties in the marriage, and on the first visit 33 percent of wives and 40 percent of husbands were already meeting the requirements set forth in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

 

On the second visit, a husband was 70 percent more likely to meet the physical activity requirements if his wife did the first time, and a wife was 40 percent more likely to meet the requirements if her husband did the first time. Laura Cobb, a co-author on the study and a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins, comments on the study, saying, “We all know how important exercise is to staying healthy. 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.” Researchers believe the adult physical activity rates can be improved across the board by counseling married couples on health and fitness together instead of separately.