Two of a kind

Have you ever heard those stories about the person who starts to resemble their pet? It appears that human couples are similar in that they begin to take on one another’s personality traits over time. Alex Crees, writer for AskDrManny.com, reported on the results of a study released earlier this week, funded by The National Institute on Aging, which indicates that couples not only “adopt similar music tastes, or turns of phrase, couples also tend to pick up each other’s unhealthy habits as well.”

University of Cincinnati researchers found that long-term, intimate relationships can lead couples to emulate each other’s health habits and affect their sense of personal responsibility. Unfortunately, it is the bad habits that couples pick up over time.

According to the study, one partner is typically considered to be the “bad influence” that encourages the other to engage in unhealthy habits. For example, if one person buys a lot of junk food, the other person will begin eating it as well. It was also determined that the “bad influence” was almost always the male in the relationship.

The study also showed that the other person in the relationship could not be classified as a “good influence.” This person generally did nothing to change his or her partner’s bad habits.

Participants in the study, all of whom were in long-term relationships or marriages from eight to 52 years, were asked a series of open-ended questions on subjects such as smoking, drinking, food consumption, sleep patterns, exercise and other health habits, said Professor Corinne Reczek, chief researcher for the study. She said that, “particular attention was paid to how partners shaped each of these habits.”

DailyMail.com, in reporting on the same subject based on information from the Mail Foreign Express, warned that “You may have married them for their sparkling conversation, good looks and sense of humor, but pay close attention to your spouse’s less attractive qualities, because they’re the ones that are going to rub off on you.”

According to the study, once you and your significant other have been together for a sufficient amount of time, the “bad influence” in the relationship will pass on these habits to their partner. “Exchange vows with a heavy smoker or a junk food addict, and you’re at risk of developing the same vice. Or if you’re an exercise fanatic who promises to honor and obey a couch potato, they’ll probably convince you to stay on the sofa.”

While previous studies have generally associated long-term relationships with good health, couples are likely to adopt one another’s vices instead of helping each other change those bad habits for good ones.

Professor Reczek will present the findings at a health conference in Las Vegas next week.

Have your partner’s bad habits rubbed off on you? Do you agree with the finding that it is the male who tends to bring bad habits to the relationship? Let us know what you think.

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