To kick bad habits, do it as a couple - study

You're more likely to achieve your fitness goals if you tackle them with your plus one. Photo / 123RF

Couples are more likely to give up smoking, visit the gym, or lose weight if they get healthy together, a study has found.

People are better at taking up healthy lifestyle habits if their partners turn over a new leaf too, the research shows.

Scientists looked at 3722 couples, either married or living together, who were enrolled into the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Elsa).

They found that participants were more successful at swapping bad habits for good ones if their partners made the change as well.

For instance, among women who smoked, half managed to quit if their partner gave up at the same time.

Trying to quit on their own proved much more difficult - 17 per cent of those whose partners were already non-smokers succeeded, and just eight per cent of those whose partners were unreformed regular smokers.

"Now is the time to make New Year's resolutions to quit smoking, take exercise, or lose weight," said lead researcher Dr Sarah Jackson, from University College London.

"And doing it with your partner increases your chances of success."

The study, published in the journal Jama Internal Medicine, was funded by Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, and the US National Institute on Aging.

- PAA