Partner Influence in Diet and Exercise Behaviors: Testing Behavior Modeling, Social Control, and Normative Body Size

Abstract

Previous research has documented social contagion in obesity and related health behaviors, but less is known about the social processes underlying these patterns. Focusing on married or cohabitating couples, we simultaneously explore three potential social mechanisms influencing obesity: normative body size, social control, and behavior modeling. We analyze the association between partner characteristics and the obesity-related health behaviors of focal respondents, comparing the effects of partners’ body type, partners’ attempts to manage respondents’ eating behaviors, and partners’ own health behaviors on respondents’ health behaviors (physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and fast food consumption). Data on 215 partners are extracted from a larger study of social mechanisms of obesity in family and community contexts conducted in 2011 in the United States. Negative binomial regression models indicate that partner behavior is significantly related to respondent behavior (p < .001), net of controls. These results are suggestive of a behavior modeling mechanism in obesity-related patterns of consumption and physical activity. In contrast, we find little support for the influence of normative body size or partner social control in this sample, though generalizations about the relevance of these processes may be inappropriate. These results underscore the importance of policies and interventions that target dyads and social groups, suggesting that adoption of exercise or diet modifications in one individual is likely to spread to others, creating a social environment characterized by mutual reinforcement of healthy behavior.

Physical activity correlates among people with psychosis: Data from 47 low- and middle-income countries

“…Regarding health behavior correlates, we found that a lower daily consumption of fruit but not vegetables was associated with low PA. This is a relationship that has been observed in the general population (Perry et al, 2016) and reinforces the message that health promotion interventions should seek to promote healthy lifestyles among those with schizophrenia, particularly given the poor nutritional intake of this population (Teasdale et al, 2017). The precise reasons why fruit, but not vegetable consumption is associated with PA is not clear and warrants further consideration in future research.…”

Paternal impact on the life course development of obesity and type 2 diabetes in the offspring

“…Additionally, a father can also influence the mother’s postnatal environment, which could affect (positively or negatively) the type and level of care she provides for offspring. Across the life course (both pre- and postnatally) there is also evidence that parents influence each other’s behaviours [46, 47], thereby further blurring the distinction between maternal and paternal impacts on offspring health.…”

Moving in Sync: Hourly Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior are Synchronized in Couples

“…***p < .001. similar behavioral norms and share activities such as watching TV, running errands like grocery shopping, or going for a walk [14]. Partners may further serve as each other's role models for health-related behaviors [47,48]. Besides shared routines and environments, partners may also actively influence each other's behavior through social exchange processes, including spousal control or support [15,49].…”