We’ve all heard the saying that when you get married, you all go to pot – meaning that people tend to let themselves go after getting married.  Indeed, new research seems to support that theory finding that married people are 2 to 3 times more likely to become obese as single, dating or even people who live together.

The study was released in the journal titled Obesity followed over 6000 adolescents into adulthood finding that married people pack on more fat and are less likely to lose weight than their single cohorts.

While reasons are not given, here are some possible explanations:

• There is more focus on food when people are married – home life becomes more structured and suddenly life is organized around meal times.  Without paying special attention to diet and nutrition, those meal times can actually be quite unhealthy and lead to weight gain
• Becoming married can come with a certain amount of stress – in fact the study found that weight gain occurred a couple of years into the marriage, when the euphoria melts off and some people can undergo increased stress feeling they are “locked” into a relationship – even if they truly do love their spouse.  As we know, there is a strong correlation between stress and gaining weight
• I didn’t see in the study accounting for children – there is also likely to be a strong correlation between having kids and gaining weight simply because stress levels go sky high, activity is minimized (especially in the first few years) and eating is often an “escape” for mothers and fathers
• Perhaps the most obvious reason, as we become more comfortable in marriage our sites get set on other things – body image doesn’t rank #1 anymore, things like being secure financially, career growth and friendships then take over as the primary focus…the result is we have less motivation and effort going into maintaining a healthy weight.

Interestingly, all is not lost given that married people tend to be more healthy in other ways, so with a little attention paid to weight loss, nutrition and continuing to be active – married people truly can have the best of both worlds.

Are you married?  Have you noticed a difference in your weight or eating habits since being married?