Couples live happily fatter after, study shows

Jul 30, 2009 19:21 GMT  ·  By
Married couples have more chances of becoming obese than those who only date, study says
   Married couples have more chances of becoming obese than those who only date, study says

The wedding day is reportedly the happiest day of a man or woman’s life, marking the end of one period of life and the beginning of another, said to be even more beautiful and fulfilling than the former. As recent studies indicate, this second stage in life also comes with more pounds, as couples start packing extra weight shortly after saying their “I Do’s,” presumably because they simply let themselves go, ABC News informs.

It has often been said that both men and women show a clear tendency of neglecting their diet and most details pertaining to their appearance once they are settled in a long-term relationship or they get married. As ABC News puts it, there is “mounting evidence” that this is not just a myth, as most couples start packing pounds shortly after the wedding ceremony. The explanation for that would be that both partners, once officially spouses, become content with how they look and what they have and simply let themselves go.

“We found that married couples were much more likely to be obese and they were much more likely to watch a lot of television and not engage in enough physical activity, relative to those who were just dating.” professor of nutrition Penny Gordon-Larsen of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and leader of the study says for the aforementioned media outlet.

As it happens, the extra weight is not limited to just a few pounds, as years and years of living together exponentially multiply the pounds added, the study has also learned. This explains why most middle-aged or senior couples today are overweight or ever morbidly obese, because a life of indulging together in the same activities and lack of motivation on both sides eventually ends up showing.

To make matters even worse, even if it’s not a surprising or unexpected finding, it seems that women are more prone to gaining weight during a stable relationship, the obesity risk in their case going up by as much as 63 percent once they’re committed to someone else. This goes to show that the saying that someone is happy in their love life based on how round in the face they look does have solid grounds. It also indicates that women put more effort into making the relationship work than in taking care of themselves, researchers say.

The good news is that, just as the weight was put on as a couple, so it can be shaken off. Researchers point out that chances are high that, if one spouse decides to go on a diet and work out, the other will soon follow suit.