Does marriage make men obese?

Marriage triples the risk of obesity for men.

That’s what a new study in Poland’s Warsaw says.

The study claims marriage increases the risk of men being overweight by 62 per cent, while for women it was 39 per cent, compared to those who are unmarried.

The findings are significant as the world battles the “silent pandemic.”

Marriage triples the risk of obesity for men

The researchers at the National Institute of Cardiology in Poland’s Warsaw examined data from 2,405 people from the Multi-centre National Population Health Examination Survey.

Usually in their 50s, 35.3 per cent of these individuals had normal weight, 38.3 per cent were overweight, and 26.4 per cent were obese.

Links between higher body weight and age, marital status, mental health, and other variables were determined by statistical analysis.

The study, led by Dr Alicja Cicha-Mikolajczyk, from the National Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland, will be presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity in Spain’s Malaga in May.  

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Married men were shown to be 3.2 times more likely than single men to be obese, whereas married women did not have an elevated risk of obesity.

Marriage also increased the odds of being overweight by 62 per cent in men and 39 per cent in women.

Katharine Jenner, the director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said, according to The Guardian, “This study is yet another reminder that excess weight is driven by a complex mix of social, psychological and wider environmental factors – not simply personal choice.”

According to Jenner, who cited the research, men may be more likely to gain weight after marriage due to factors like increased portion sizes, social eating, and a decline in physical activity, whereas women perhaps remain more conscious of body weight due to societal pressures.

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Increased age raises the chances of weight gain

The Warsaw study also discovered that weight gain was influenced by age.

According to the study, the chance of being overweight increases by three per cent for men and four per cent for women with each year of age, while the risk of obesity increases by four per cent for men and six per cent for women.

According to the researchers, several traits seemed to influence the likelihood of obesity exclusively in women.

Inadequate health literacy raised the risk of obesity by 43 per cent and depression twice the risk, whereas obesity was more prevalent among women in smaller communities.

The risk for men was not raised by any of these factors.

Jenner said, “With each passing year, the risk of living with overweight or obesity increases, particularly for women. Meanwhile, the link between marriage and obesity in men highlights how lifestyle changes, habits, and societal expectations shape our health.”

“Instead of blaming individuals, we need policies that make healthy choices the easy choices – through better food environments, education, and support at every stage of life.”

Also read: World Obesity Day: Childhood obesity isn’t just about food—it’s about the world we’ve built

Similar studies

According to a Chinese study conducted in 2024, male BMI rises within the first five years following marriage.

This resulted from eating more calories and exercising less. Additionally, the study discovered that marriage was linked to a 5.2 per cent increase in overweight men and a 2.5 per cent increase in obese men.

According to a prior study conducted by the University of Bath, married men were generally 1.4 kilogrammes heavier than their single counterparts.

The Warsaw study “confirms what I found in 2017: male BMI increases after marriage and decreases just before and after divorce,” according to The Guardian, which quot4ed Joanna Syrda, a business economics lecturer at the University of Bath.

“The main possible reasons are that single men looking for a partner have higher incentives and exert more effort to stay fit than those who are already or still married. And second, those in relationships may eat more regular meals and/or richer foods due to social obligations, which may arise because of marriage.”

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Expert opinion

Men’s Health Forum consultant Jim Pollard advised against reading too much into the findings.

As per the report, he said that bad eating habits and demanding work schedules could contribute to elevated BMI in marriages.

“Men are more likely to die prematurely of heart disease and cancer, and weight is a key factor in these conditions. We need a more targeted approach to tackling men’s and women’s obesity. The government has promised both a men’s health strategy and a women’s health strategy – this research shows how important it is to get them right.”

Global obesity rates

Obesity is a problem that nearly every nation in the world is facing.

Over 2.5 billion adults and children worldwide are overweight or obese, with obesity rates more than doubling since 1990.

By 2050, it is expected that a third of children and more than half of adults will be overweight or obese globally, according to a Lancet study.

With inputs from agencies