Brian Palmer investigates why married people are more susceptible to obesity:
The nature of the connection between marriage and weight gain is a matter of conjecture. One plausible explanation is the “marriage market hypothesis”: Single people remain thin for no other reason than to attract a mate. Once you’ve legally obligated someone to stick with you through sickness and health, there’s no compelling reason to eat right and exercise.
But that theory flies in the face of the overall marriage protection hypothesis. If people quit smoking, wear sunscreen, and eschew suicide for the sake of their families, why would they allow themselves to become obese? (It’s important to note that mere age is not the explanation for the link between obesity and marriage. Researchers control for our tendency to gain weight as we get older, and the correlation is still easily detectable.)
There may be a simple explanation: People eat more when they’re together.
Update from a reader:
Here’s another reason, which I’m surprised I didn’t see in the post: if I don’t go back for seconds, my wife doesn’t think I like what she cooked.
Another:
It’s funny for me that you bring this up. Last night my wife said to me, “I’ve lost 7 lbs. I think this ‘having no food in the house’ thing might be working.”
Now it’s true that we’re scraping by these days, but our house is by no means empty of food. Our refrigerator is stuffed full. What she means, whether she fully realizes or not, is that scraping by means going without all the hyper-processed, junk-food extras that are often in abundant supply in our house.
As that last comment probably indicates, the two of us differ in our opinion of food and how to shop for it. I’m the cook in the house, so I shop for preparing meals. When my wife goes shopping, she buys to eat. Her grocery bill is often 50% – 100% more than mine because I tend to buy the basics, while she buys whatever grabs her fancy.
How is this relevant? Because if it’s in the house, I’ll eat it too. I know I will. That’s why I don’t buy it. Still, I’m struggling with my weight because if I have it in my mind to prepare the chicken I bought for this week, but come home to find my wife about to stick a frozen pizza in the oven, I’ll cave. Rather than stop her and insist I prep the chicken breast, I tell myself that we’ll have it tomorrow night.
Being married means I have my own enabler.
Another:
Yes, married people are heavier over time than non-married people. But the two factors not mentioned in the post are that married women are more likely to have children than single women (which typically increases weight, thereby skewing the average), and more importantly the greater likelihood of the presence of children contributes to physical and psychological exhaustion for both men and women. And study after study shows that we eat more when we are less rested.
The Dish 