According to latest research, marriage and divorce seem to have a profound effect on weight. The most interesting part is that the effects are reversed in the case of both genders. It has been observed that while women notice an increase in their waistlines after marriage, men begin to put on weight after divorce.
According to Dmitry Tumin, the lead researcher of the study and an Ohio State University doctoral student of sociology, the trend of weight gain and loss before and after marriage and divorce varies dramatically by gender. The research was made public through a university news release. For the research, more than ten thousand married people were. The study group consisted of both genders and many of then had been divorced. The fluctuations in weight were observed for two years after divorce and marriage. The data considered for the study belonged to the years between 1986 and 2008.
According to the team, the transition from bachelorhood or spinsterhood into married life and then the transition between married life and divorce had an effect on the weight. In the data collected, the researchers found that the two years after marriage and after divorce was the period when most people showed irregularities in their weight. The weight gain was higher in women after marriage and higher in men after divorce. Tumin said that in many cases, the weight gain after marriage and divorce were profound enough to lead to major health problems.
The results of the study matched previous studies that were carried out on the same concept. Although Tumin’s team did not delve into conducting research to find reasons for this trend of excessive weight gain in both the sexes after different marital transitions, reasons have been explained by Zhinchao Qian, who is a professor of sociology and co-author of the study.
According to Qian, women tend to neglect their weight after marriage because they are more caught up in domestic chores that leave them little time and scope for exercise. He continued that after marriage, health of men is largely improved. After a divorce, this benefit vanishes and hence, they end up gaining weight. The study also found a relation between the age, transition in marriage and weight gain. As people grew older, it was found that weight gain after either transition was more. The reason is attributed to decrease in the mental and psychological ability to deal with such shocks in life and any kind of mental and emotional shock is reflected in the weight.