Fit Fam: Why working out with the ones you love matters

April 18, 2021

Couples live together and tend to develop similar habits. If you and your partner also have kids, they are watching your every move, learning from what you eat and how you spend your time. Use your familial influence to develop defenses against future obesity and chronic illness.

Putting kids on the path to a healthy lifestyle is a family affair. Parents set the strongest example for future wellness by modeling nutrition and regular exercise as a way of life. What's more, the power of positive role models can influence healthy changes for people of all ages, whether you work out with your partner or start meeting your bestie at the juice bar instead of the pancake house for weekly brunch. Witness the countless families who have gone viral on social media for getting fit together, including the Dings in China, who documented their six-month journey of slimming down as a team.

Why prioritize family fitness?

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled over the past three decades. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports that 8.2 percent of babies and toddlers younger than two have a genetic risk of obesity. Children who become obese at a young age have a significantly higher risk for many chronic diseases once associated only with adults, such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes. According to research from the National Institutes of Health, one in three American children is overweight or obese and statistically likely to remain overweight in adulthood.

If you've been thinking about making some changes in your family fitness levels, consider starting sooner rather than later. After all, a true revolution takes time. In this article, we'll delve into the research behind how relationships influence healthy habits and explore tested techniques to try with your family.

How family members help shape our habits

As mentioned above, clinical research indicates that healthy behavior in parents is the single biggest predictor of healthy behavior in children as they grow. A long-term University of Buffalo study funded by the NIH taught obese kids ages 8 to 12 about exercise, nutritious food, and healthy behaviors. Some weight loss groups focused on just the preteens, while others included their parents who were also obese. Researchers reported a higher rate of healthy family lifestyle change and weight loss among the group that included both parents and kids. While many parents gained back weight over the years, researchers found that a decade later, more than 40 percent of the children who worked with their parents had maintained a weight reduction of at least 20 percent as young adults. This suggests that the earlier kids learn good health habits, the better they stick.

Spouses can have a similar impact on one another's well-being, for better or for worse. A study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health instructed couples about national recommendations for physical activity. The authors found that when wives met these exercise targets during an initial doctor visit, their husbands had a 70 percent likelihood of also hitting those goals during a subsequent doctor visit. Wives in the study with physically active husbands had a 40 percent higher rate of meeting physical activity objectives by the subsequent doctor visit. This study shows the benefits of planning a workout together.

Wellness strategies that work for all ages

As you take steps toward healthy family living, keep in mind the program components that predict success. Family-based weight loss is most effective when it involves children and their parents, includes developmentally appropriate activities, focuses on building self-confidence, knowledge, and skills, uses positive reinforcement, and takes a holistic approach with education about healthy sleep, stress management, physical activity, and nutrition. These are some of our favorite first steps.

Put it on the schedule

The American Heart Association recommends blocking out family time on your calendar for physical activity every week. Aim for two 30-minute exercise sessions and two 60-minute exercise sessions and plan fun ways to get moving each time. You can even let family members take turns picking activities like swimming together, having a dance party, or just taking a walk. As you increase metabolism and fitness levels together, you can begin to add more activity sessions. Remember to drink enough water so you have adequate hydration throughout each workout together.

Find your RMR

Learning your resting metabolic rate (RMR) can enhance your ability to burn calories and keep off unwanted pounds. RMR simply measures how much energy your body uses at rest. A higher resting metabolic rate is associated with a lower percentage of body fat mass and a higher percentage of muscle mass. Tracking numbers like RMR can give your family a way to visualize your progress as you increase metabolism, lose fat, and build muscle.

Share meals with loved ones

Healthy eating most often starts around the family table. Research published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, found a link between sharing family dinners and good nutrition among children and adolescents. The study followed more than 183,000 children ages 2 to 18 and found that those who shared meals with their parents and other family members at least three times a week displayed healthier eating patterns and lower rates of being overweight or obese than kids and teens who did not share family meals. Specifically, the family meal participants:

Had a 35 percent lower rate of disordered eating
Were 24 percent more likely to engage in healthy eating
Were 20 percent less likely to prefer unhealthy foods
Were 12 percent less likely to be overweight or obese

In addition to eating together, don't forget about the power of cooking meals together. Having fun in the kitchen as a couple or a family helps everyone feel ownership of the nutritious foods you prepare, which makes them that much more satisfying to eat. Choose easy recipes that can involve kids of all ages.

Start with small changes

If you aren't sure how to eat healthy, you aren't alone. Understanding the ins and outs of nutrition can be a challenging proposition. The National Center for Health Research recommends focusing on subtle switches for your family rather than radical overnight changes. Swap out fried favorites for baked or grilled alternatives. Skip the white rice to experiment with whole-grain alternatives like couscous and quinoa. Start a Meatless Monday tradition and make a meal that centers on lentils, beans, or even seafood. Rely on water for hydration and cut out sugary beverages like soda and juice.

Small changes can work for fitness as well as nutrition. For example, take a walk as a family rather than watching TV after dinner and put sports equipment like exercise balls and jump ropes where your kids have easy access.

Dial down device use

Setting family limits for screen time is more challenging today than ever before, especially as many of us work and attend classes from home offices. However, device use is another area where children need a good parental example. The Screen Time vs. Lean Time initiative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that families try to replace at least an hour of daily screening with exercise.

Go beyond the scale

Having a DEXA body composition scan can revitalize each family member's nutrition profile by offering details about the type, level, and distribution of body fat. You'll also learn about your tissue, bone, and muscle mass. DEXA is especially beneficial for individuals who are overweight or obese and want to make changes that go beyond the numbers on the scale. For example, you can reduce your risk of chronic illness by targeting visceral fat mass, which wraps around the organs and dramatically increases the risk for hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and metabolic syndrome.

Take the first transformative step

Preventing childhood obesity and reducing obesity rates among adults can have an unmatched impact on health and wellness. CDC data associates obesity with reduced physical function, higher overall mortality, and increased rates of gallbladder disease, stroke, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, most types of cancers, sleep problems, breathing problems, mental illness, and chronic pain. Obese individuals also report a lower overall quality of life.

If you want to reduce disease risk and ward off these complications as a family, start with a DEXA scan to know where you stand and where to go from there. Look for a location near you to learn more about body composition with this illuminating scan.