More Happier in marriage more chances of getting fat: A study
- Reported, February 04, 2013
All wedded couples hope for marital bliss - but it does come at a heavy
price, researchers say. For the happier you are in your marriage, the more
likely you are to pile on the pounds. A team from the Southern Methodist
University in Dallas studied 169 newly married couples over four years. During
this period they measured their weight and asked them how satisfied they were in
their relationship eight times.
They found that spouses who were happy in their union tended to gain more weight
while those who weren't so satisfied tended to gain less weight. The findings
held even after
compensating for factors such as pregnancy. Lead researcher Andrea Meltzer,
said: 'For each unit of increase in satisfaction found, either by the person or
the partner, a 0.12
increase in BMI occurred every six months, on average.' This increase would be
equivalent to a 5ft 4 woman weighing 8.5st gaining half a pound every six
months.
Although the weight gain period wasn't great it could add up over a longer
period of time.' We don't know what happens after the four years yet,' she told
Health Day.
Dr Meltzer speculated that those in unhappy marriages may manage their weight
better because they are contemplating divorce and want to attract a new partner.
She called this the 'mating market' model. However, she cautioned that her
results, which she presented at the Society for Personality and Social
Psychology in New Orleans, doesn't prove a cause and effect link. There has been
much research into the effects of marriage on health. A recent study from Ohio
University found wives tend to put on weight after tying the knot while men stay
relatively trim.
The scientists, who tracked the lives and figures of more than 10,000 husbands
and wives suggested this was because women stop taking care of themselves to
look after their husbands when they get married. This could explain why men in
the study generally gained weight if they split with their partner. Ohio State
University researcher Dmitry Tumin said: ‘Clearly, the effect of marital
transitions on weight changes differs by gender. ‘Divorces for men, and to some
extent, marriages for women, promote weight gains that may be large enough to
pose a health risk.’
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