Spousal Influence on Physical Activity in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Abstract

Low physical activity levels are a public health concern. Few studies have assessed the concordance of physical activity change among spouses. We studied this concordance during a 6-year period (baseline: 1987-1989; follow-up: 1993-1995) in 3,261 spousal pairs from the US-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Linear regression was used to examine the association between change in individuals' sport/exercise and leisure physical activity indices (ranging from 1 (low) to 5 (high)) and change in his or her spouse's indices. The association between individual and spousal changes in meeting physical activity recommendations was assessed with logistic regression. Individual changes in the sport/exercise and leisure indices were positively associated with spousal changes. For every standard deviation increase in their wives' sport/exercise index, men's exercise index increased by 0.09 (95% confidence interval: 0.05, 0.12) standard deviation; for every standard deviation increase in their wives' leisure index, men's leisure index increased by 0.08 standard deviation. Results were similar for women. Individuals had higher odds of meeting physical activity recommendations if their spouse met recommendations at both visits or just follow-up. In conclusion, changes in an individual's physical activity are positively associated with changes in his or her spouse's physical activity. Physical activity promotion efforts should consider targeting couples.

Couples' daily self-regulation: The Health Action Process Approach at the dyadic level

“…Spouses have similar health status, which is possibly due to shared common lifestyles [ 16 ]. There is consistent evidence that romantic partners are highly concordant in their health behaviors [ 17 , 18 ], and that making a health behavior change is closely linked within couples [ 17 , 19 ]. In line with this, the Transactive Goal Dynamics theory (TGD; [ 20 ]) conceptualizes two interdependent individuals as one single self-regulating system.…”

“Grandma, You Should Do It—It’s Cool” Older Adults and the Role of Family Members in Their Acceptance of Technology

“…Not all members of the social network seem to be equally important: in comparison with other members of the social network (e.g., friends, peers), family members seem to be the most important when it comes to how older adults live their lives and what solutions they choose when their autonomy is at stake [ 3 , 15 , 29 ]. Furthermore, it is known that spouses influence each other’s health behavior [ 30 , 31 , 32 ] and could also be of influence to each other’s acceptance of technology. Therefore, the following research question is central in this paper: Why and how do family members, including spouses, influence the acceptance of technology by community-dwelling older adults, according to older adults themselves?…”

Spousal influence on physical activity in physically inactive pregnant women: A cross-sectional study

“…An individual’s level of PA was influenced by his or her spouse’s level of PA in middle-aged and older spouses (Cobb et al, 2016). In the current study, spouse’s PA level was a significant predictor of pregnant women’s PA level.…”

“…It is also possible that support from spouse/partner may directly motivate pregnant women to engage in healthier practices such as PA (Uchino, Uno, & Holt-Lunstad, 1999). In addition, spousal PA level was a significant predictor of other partner’s PA level in non-pregnant populations including in middle-aged and older adults (Cobb et al, 2016; Satariano, Haight, & Tager, 2002). Given that lack of social support from spouse/partner is often reported as a barrier to being physically active among pregnant women (Evenson, Moos, Carrier, & Siega-Riz, 2009), it is essential to examine spouse/partner’s characteristics that may influence pregnant women’s PA levels including spouse/partner’s belief, knowledge, social support, and PA level.…”