WARNING: Getting Married Is A Risk Factor For Obesity

if she ‘lets herself go’ he is likely to do the same

An interesting research project has confirmed what many people suspect! Yes, getting married does make you more likely to put on weight.

The project done by Professor Penny Gordon-Larsen and Ms Natalie The, a nutrition doctoral student both from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health made clear that getting married is a risk factor for obesity. Their results show that married men and women were over twice as likely to suffer from obesity. They also noted that women who lived in with a partner increased their risk of obesity by almost 2/3 [63 percent] but interestingly the extra risk for men moving in with a partner was nonexistent.

There are lots of different theories as to why obesity and marriage are connected but probably the most obvious factor is that both men and women relax about their appearances when they feel safe and comfortable within a relationship.  Women also tend to put on weight after childbirth and men when they settle down tend to be older and therefore less active and play less sport.

In a relationship people tend to mimic each other’s eating patterns and a very health conscious woman is likely to keep her husband in shape whereas if she ‘lets herself go’ he is likely to do the same. Eating healthy and getting exercise together can actually make weight loss, weight maintenance and exercise more fun and therefore more likely to be effective.

If you are thinking of getting married you should be aware of these statistics and make sure that after your honeymoon you keep an eye on your eating and exercise habits so that they don’t get neglected.  The older you get the more it is important that you eat healthily and get regular exercise especially if you want to enjoy your golden retirement years.