A new study has found that married men are three times more likely to become obese compared to unmarried men, whereas marriage does not significantly affect obesity in women.
According to The Guardian and Sky News reports on Wednesday, researchers at the National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, Poland, analyzed health data from 2,405 men and women with an average age of 50. Their findings will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Málaga, Spain, this May.
Dr. Alicja Cicha-Mikolajczyk from Warsaw’s National Institute of Cardiology, who led the study, explained that both age and marital status influence the likelihood of being overweight or obese, regardless of gender.
Among the individuals analyzed, 35% were of normal weight, 38% were overweight, and 26% were classified as obese. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) generally defines obesity as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher, while a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight.
While marriage was linked to weight gain in men, aging was found to be a more significant factor for women.
After getting married, 62% of men experienced significant weight gain, whereas only 39% of women saw an increase. Additionally, for each year of aging, the risk of obesity increased by 6% for women, compared to a 4% increase for men.
The study also found that some risk factors for obesity applied only to women.
For instance, depression doubled the risk of obesity in women. Additionally, women with low “health literacy”—the ability to obtain, process, and understand health-related information—were 43% more likely to be obese. Women living in small communities also had a higher prevalence of obesity. However, these factors did not significantly affect men’s obesity risk.
Joanna Syrda, a lecturer at the University of Bath in the UK, noted similarities between the Polish study and her 2017 research. She found that men’s BMI tends to increase after marriage but decreases right before and after divorce. She suggested that single men may be more motivated to maintain their health as they seek a partner, whereas married men may feel less pressure.
However, Jim Pollard, a consultant at the Men’s Health Forum in the UK, cautioned against overinterpreting the study’s results. He argued that the weight gain observed in married men could be attributed to long working hours, unhealthy eating habits, and job-related stress rather than marriage itself.
