Would your cholesterol improve if your partner was more involved with your effort to adopt a healthier lifestyle?

In a randomised controlled trial, CouPLES (Couples Partnering for Lipid Enhancing Strategies, a lifestyle intervention) was tested over 11 months in 255 patients with high cholesterol.

Patients received usual care, or a monthly telephone call for goal setting plus a support planning telephone call for their spouse.

The intervention group significantly reduced their calorie and fat intake and took significantly more intense exercise.

However, both groups had similar levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL).

LDL: a lipoprotein of blood plasma that is composed of a moderate proportion of protein with little triglyceride and a high proportion of cholesterol and that is associated with increased probability of developing atherosclerosis also called: bad cholesterol, beta-lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein

Source: Preventive Medicine 2013;56:46-52.

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