Is marriage good or bad for your weight?

Marriage and weight

Studies have shown that marriage is good for your health. However, researchers have found that married couples eat better than singles, and they also weigh more.

The marriage and BMI relationship

The researchers compared the relationship between marriage and body mass index (BMI), which relates body weight to height.

According to the World Health Organisation, a normal body mass index is between 18.5 and 25. Overweight is defined as an index between 25 and 30, and obesity as above 30.

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. Beyond their focus on married couples, the researchers also looked as cohabiting couples.

Happily ever fatter

The average BMI of the single men in the study was 25.7; that of the married men was 26.3. For women, the average index was 25.1 for singles and 25.6 for married women.

Although these differences may seem small, they are meaningful. In an average-height woman of 165 cm or an average-height man of 180 cm, they represent a difference of about two kilograms.

Why couples are healthier but heavier than singles

Researchers examined the possible reasons for weight gain. Survey findings offered possible reasons for this trend.

On the positive side, couples reported buying more regional and unprocessed products and less convenience food. Moreover, married men were more likely than single men to buy organic and fair trade food.

"That indicates that particularly men in long-term relationships are more likely to eat more consciously and, in turn, probably more healthily," says Jutta Mata, lead author of the study and Assistant Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Basel.

But it does not mean that they are generally healthier: The study also shows that married men do less sport (exercise) than singles.

"Our findings indicate that couples are not healthier in every respect, as has previously been assumed," says Jutta Mata.

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