In a study published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction on October 18, 2023, researchers found that working out with a spouse may not result in as much physical activity as expected. The study involved 240 participants aged 54 to 72, all of whom were married and living with their spouses. The participants were split into four groups: two couples and two individual groups, to exercise either with or without their spouses.
Each participant wore a fitness tracker, with only half receiving real-time data from them. Over a 12-week period, researchers collected data on how consistently participants met daily step thresholds and their daily average step count. The study found that working out with a spouse did not result in as much physical activity as working out alone. This suggests that exercising with a buddy, specifically a spouse, may not be as effective as working out independently.
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