The idea that happy couples gain weight when they love each other sounds slightly far-fetched, but surprisingly, there isevidence that supports this statement. According toseveral studies, couples who reported being happy and satisfied intheir relationships/marriages were more likely togain weight.
Here atBright Side, wefollowed the studies that had been carried out and learned what was examined and what the result ofthe research was.
Married couples gaining weight
Research done bythe University ofNorth Carolina followed the weight measurements ofmore than 8,000 people and itwas concluded that amarried woman can gain, onaverage, 24pounds during the first 5to6years ofher marriage. Inaddition, women who lived with their partners but weren’t married gained 22pounds while women who were dating but weren’t living with their partner gained only 13pounds.
The study also showed that men gained weight during the transition from being single tobeing inarelationship, and itshowed that men who cohabited with their other half for more than 2years were twice aslikely togain more than 25pounds than men who did not live with their partner.
The study reached aconclusion that there isastrong association between romantic relationships and the number ofobesity-related results. However, even though weight gain isevident inlong-term romantic relationships, there was asignificant decrease insmoking and alcohol abuse which shows awillingness ofcouples topursue ahealthier lifestyle.
Newly wedded couples
More research was done bythe National Institute ofHealth toexamine whether weight gain innewly wedded couples was apositive ornegative reflection oftheir happiness. The study followed couples who had been married for more than 4years and itexamined their emotional health and levels ofstress. Itwas found that couples who had recently been happily married were twice more likely toput onweight whereas couples who reported being not ashappy with their spouses were less likely togain weight.
The study reached the conclusion that happy couples gain more weight because they don’t have the need toattract another partner and they feel happier the way they are. Whereas couples who feel unhappy intheir relationships are unable togain more weight due tostress. However, itisrecommended for happily married couples who gained weight tothink oftheir BMI because ofhealth issues rather than their appearance.
Weight gain iscontagious
Astudy done bythe New England Journal ofMedicine showed that weight gain isalso contagious inmarried couples. Ifone partner isgaining weight, the other partner has a37% chance ofgaining more weight aswell. This isbecause they adapt toeach other’s habits since they spend somuch time together. Whereas couples that might beunhappy intheir relationships avoid spending time together soitbecomes more difficult toadapt toeach other’s eating habits.
People holding the study analyzed the social environment, habits and mutual activities ofthe couples and reached the conclusion that mutual weight gain derives from both individuals psychologically influencing each other with their eating habits.
Itisimportant tokeep inmind that even though these are studies done byhealth professionals, they only show anumber ofinstances inthe world and not the whole world inquestion, soitdoes not apply toeveryone. There are always exceptions and itdoesn’t mean that when you don’t gain weight when you are married that you are not happy with your partner. These studies were mainly done inorder tounderstand the living situations ofcouples and tohelp fight obesity.
Itisvital toinfluence each other inpositive ways with healthy eating habits and lifestyles regardless ofweight inorder toenjoy each other’s company for the rest ofyour lives.
What doyou think about the results ofthese studies? Doyou believe you can gain more weight when you are happily married? Please letus know your thoughts inthe comments below!
Please note: This article was updated in May 2022 to correct source material and factual inaccuracies.
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