Marriage and Weight Gain: Why Couples are Fatter Than Singles

Could marriage make you fat? That may just be the case, according to a new study. Scientists have compared couples to those who are single and have found that while couples eat better, they also weigh significantly more and do less exercise.

In this latest study, the researchers drew on representative cross-sectional data from 10,226 respondents in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom. More specifically, they looked at the body mass index from these participants and looked at possible reasons for weight gain by asking respondents about their eating and exercise behaviors.

A normal body mass index is between 18.5 and 25. Overweight is defined as an index between 25 and 30, and obesity is above 30. In this latest study, the researchers found that the average body mass index of single men was 25.7 and that of married men was 26.3. For women, the average index was 25.1 for singles and 25.6 for married women.

While these differences may be small, they are meaningful. They show that marriage could cause men and women to pack on some extra weight.

"Our findings show how social factors can impact health," said Ralph Hertwig, one of the researchers, in a news release. "In this case, that the institution of marriage and certain changes in behavior within that context are directly related to nutrition and body weight."

So why does this trend occur? Married couples actually eat healthier than singles. However, married couples also do less sports than unmarried men and women.

The findings are published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

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