Marriage Increases Obesity Risk for Men, Research Shows
A recent study has found that being married could greatly increase the risk of obesity in men. Researchers discovered that while both men and women become more likely to be overweight when they marry, the effect is much stronger for men.
According to the study, marriage raises the chances of being overweight by 62% for men, compared to an increase of 39% for women.
Additionally, married men are 3.2 times more likely to be obese than those who are single. Interestingly, this connection was not found for married women when compared to their unmarried counterparts.
The researchers believe cultural attitudes towards obesity may explain why men seem to be more affected by marriage. The study also highlighted that getting older is linked to a higher risk of being overweight or obese for both men and women.
Conducted on couples in Poland, a report by ‘The Independent’ indicated that the research will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Spain this May. Dr. Alicja Cicha-Mikolajczyk, from the National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, led the study, which involved 2,405 participants typically aged between 50 and 35.
The results showed that 35.3% of the participants had a normal weight, while 38.3% were overweight and 26.4% were obese. Participants answered questions about their health knowledge, mental health, and social support from family and friends.
The study showed that 55% of participants had good health literacy, 50% had moderate social support, and 15% experienced depression. Each year of age increased the risk of being overweight by 3% in men and 4% in women, and the risk of obesity by 4% in men and 6% in women.
Researchers concluded that both age and marital status significantly influence obesity risk, and boosting health education could help address this growing issue.
