Married men are more than three times as likely to be obese as their unmarried counterparts, research suggests.
While both men and women face a greater risk of gaining weight after marriage, the effect is far more pronounced in men. The study found that married men were 3.2 times more likely to be classified as obese, while the risk of being overweight was 62% higher for men and 39% higher for women compared with unmarried couples.
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However, the same obesity trend was not observed in married women. Researchers from Poland’s National Institute of Cardiology suggested this could be because women who are obese are more heavily stigmatised, making them more likely to take action to manage their weight.
Dr Alicja Cicha-Mikolajczyk, who led the study, said women “cannot accept living with obesity” as readily as men and are more motivated to lose weight.
The study, which examined 2,405 Polish adults with an average age of 50, also found that ageing significantly increased the likelihood of gaining weight. Each additional year raised the risk of being overweight by 3% in men and 4% in women, while the risk of obesity increased by 4% in men and 6% in women.
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Other factors also played a role, particularly for women. Depression and a lack of health awareness were found to contribute significantly to obesity risk in females, though these factors did not appear to influence men in the same way.
The researchers concluded: “Age and marital status have an undeniable impact on the likelihood of being overweight or obese in adulthood, regardless of sex. Inadequate health literacy and at least borderline depression were associated with obesity in women.
“It appears from our findings that improving health knowledge and promoting healthy lifestyles across the lifespan could help tackle rising obesity levels.”
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The study will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Spain this May.
In Nigeria, a study released about a decade ago found that western influences on diet and lifestyle are playing a part in what at the time of the report by the open access journal PLOS One was described as “a serious epidemic that is going to create all the health issues the west is already struggling with.”
The study from researchers at Warwick medical school found that more than one in five women in Nigeria is overweight or obese – among men the rates are much lower, which the authors think may be down to the amount of physical work men still do.
The study added that the richest women in Nigeria are three and a half times more likely to be overweight or obese than those in the lowest income bracket.
