<p>Before their May 2006 wedding, the couple did the requisite whittling down of their bodies. Deans, now 32 and a financial adviser in Fairfax, Va., lost 60 pounds; his bride, who is 30 and a youth pastor, lost about 45. The beginning of the end, at least in terms of their physiques, took place during their Virginia Beach honeymoon, when they indulged in everything they had denied themselves before their wedding day.<br /><br />And then the wedding gown went into mothballs and life kicked in. They worked hard. They socialised. Deans, a Food Network disciple, whipped up big, hearty Italian dinners, which the couple topped off with ice cream. By January of this year, Deans was 45 pounds heavier and his wife was up 50.<br /><br />“My wife and I both feel comfortable with each other to the point that we know that no matter what, we both can be happy,” Deans said. “That probably added to our feelings of ‘I’m good, <br /><br />I’m fine.’ ” Call them happy pounds, love chub or the marriage 15. No matter what, gaining weight during marriage is about as common as holding your breath under water.<br />A 2008 study in the Journal of Economics and Human Biology examined data from 12,000 men and women ages 18 to mid-40s. Compared with when they were single, the body mass index (or B M I, a height-to-weight ratio) of married men increased by 1.5 percent above and beyond what they would normally gain as they aged, and that of women shot up 2 percent.<br /><br />Social factors<br />“Marriage brings along with it social obligations: you eat out more, entertain more frequently, cook meals more frequently, and there’s also an element of being too busy to exercise,” said Laura Argys, an economics professor at the University of Colorado and an author of the study. What’s more, for better and worse, married couples tend to share behaviours and activities, like snuggling on the couch with a vat of popcorn rather than hopping on the treadmill.<br /><br />There are also incentives that could explain why the B M I of couples who lived together without making it legal increased by only about 1 percent. If you’re married, the thinking goes, you’re somewhat settled. You don’t have to prove yourself; your spouse will ostensibly love you, all of you, muffin top notwithstanding.<br /><br />A 2009 study published in Obesity surveyed 1,293 young adults between 18 and 27 years old who were married, living together or dating. The married couples were threefold more likely to both be obese, whereas the cohabiting couples had close to double the risk. <br /><br />Physical features vital<br />“Physical attributes — especially for women — play a role in marriage markets, so you might extend more effort having a healthy body weight if you’re in the dating pool,” said Penny Gordon-Larsen, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and an author of the study. In other words: The less stable the relationship, the less likely you’ll gain weight because the chance that you’ll be out there, back on the market, is greater, and thus, the need to be attractive once again is heightened.<br /><br />And then there are the very real logistical changes that come with cohabitation: He is a champion snorer and she can’t sleep with a foghorn blaring in her ear. She is pregnant and he matches her Whopper for Whopper or, conversely, he eats like a lumberjack and she follows suit.<br /><br />“Women don’t practice portion control, and when eating out are served the same size meal as their husbands — and finish their plate,” said Danielle Omar, a registered dietitian in Fairfax, Va., who has been helping the Deans slim down. “Couples tend to drink alcohol with meals and eat dessert after a big meal more often.”<br /><br />The culprits<br />Dr David Edelson, the founder and chief executive of Thin-Site (thin-site.com), a weight-loss site, and the medical director of HealthBridge, a group practice in Manhasset, NY, cites stress, incompatible food habits, an increase in medications, a decrease in metabolism, child-rearing, smoking cessation and unconscious sabotage as other culprits.<br />“One partner might be jealous of the other, and feed them to gain excess weight and make them less attractive to potential suitors,” he said. And then there’s just the joy that comes from gazing into each other’s eyes over a steaming plate of linguine and letting the happy vibes seep in with the olive oil. <br /><br />This might explain why Joe Lilly, a 32-year-old Internet marketer in Las Vegas, added 40 pounds after his May 2007 wedding (his wife, Stephanie, put on 10). “I went from spending spare time in the gym trying to impress my lady to spending spare time with my lady and our friends,” he said.<br /><br />The good news is that if the relationship disintegrates people tend to lose weight. As per Professor Argys, divorced men usually revert to their pre-marriage B M I, and divorced women’s B M I’s are actually 2.5 percent lower than when they married.<br />Why? “If you’re single, you have a strong incentive to look good,” said Uri Gneezy, an economics professor at the University of California, who has completed a yet-to-be-published study on the subject. “You’re looking for a good match.”<br />And so the cycle continues. <br />The New York Times</p>
<p>Before their May 2006 wedding, the couple did the requisite whittling down of their bodies. Deans, now 32 and a financial adviser in Fairfax, Va., lost 60 pounds; his bride, who is 30 and a youth pastor, lost about 45. The beginning of the end, at least in terms of their physiques, took place during their Virginia Beach honeymoon, when they indulged in everything they had denied themselves before their wedding day.<br /><br />And then the wedding gown went into mothballs and life kicked in. They worked hard. They socialised. Deans, a Food Network disciple, whipped up big, hearty Italian dinners, which the couple topped off with ice cream. By January of this year, Deans was 45 pounds heavier and his wife was up 50.<br /><br />“My wife and I both feel comfortable with each other to the point that we know that no matter what, we both can be happy,” Deans said. “That probably added to our feelings of ‘I’m good, <br /><br />I’m fine.’ ” Call them happy pounds, love chub or the marriage 15. No matter what, gaining weight during marriage is about as common as holding your breath under water.<br />A 2008 study in the Journal of Economics and Human Biology examined data from 12,000 men and women ages 18 to mid-40s. Compared with when they were single, the body mass index (or B M I, a height-to-weight ratio) of married men increased by 1.5 percent above and beyond what they would normally gain as they aged, and that of women shot up 2 percent.<br /><br />Social factors<br />“Marriage brings along with it social obligations: you eat out more, entertain more frequently, cook meals more frequently, and there’s also an element of being too busy to exercise,” said Laura Argys, an economics professor at the University of Colorado and an author of the study. What’s more, for better and worse, married couples tend to share behaviours and activities, like snuggling on the couch with a vat of popcorn rather than hopping on the treadmill.<br /><br />There are also incentives that could explain why the B M I of couples who lived together without making it legal increased by only about 1 percent. If you’re married, the thinking goes, you’re somewhat settled. You don’t have to prove yourself; your spouse will ostensibly love you, all of you, muffin top notwithstanding.<br /><br />A 2009 study published in Obesity surveyed 1,293 young adults between 18 and 27 years old who were married, living together or dating. The married couples were threefold more likely to both be obese, whereas the cohabiting couples had close to double the risk. <br /><br />Physical features vital<br />“Physical attributes — especially for women — play a role in marriage markets, so you might extend more effort having a healthy body weight if you’re in the dating pool,” said Penny Gordon-Larsen, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and an author of the study. In other words: The less stable the relationship, the less likely you’ll gain weight because the chance that you’ll be out there, back on the market, is greater, and thus, the need to be attractive once again is heightened.<br /><br />And then there are the very real logistical changes that come with cohabitation: He is a champion snorer and she can’t sleep with a foghorn blaring in her ear. She is pregnant and he matches her Whopper for Whopper or, conversely, he eats like a lumberjack and she follows suit.<br /><br />“Women don’t practice portion control, and when eating out are served the same size meal as their husbands — and finish their plate,” said Danielle Omar, a registered dietitian in Fairfax, Va., who has been helping the Deans slim down. “Couples tend to drink alcohol with meals and eat dessert after a big meal more often.”<br /><br />The culprits<br />Dr David Edelson, the founder and chief executive of Thin-Site (thin-site.com), a weight-loss site, and the medical director of HealthBridge, a group practice in Manhasset, NY, cites stress, incompatible food habits, an increase in medications, a decrease in metabolism, child-rearing, smoking cessation and unconscious sabotage as other culprits.<br />“One partner might be jealous of the other, and feed them to gain excess weight and make them less attractive to potential suitors,” he said. And then there’s just the joy that comes from gazing into each other’s eyes over a steaming plate of linguine and letting the happy vibes seep in with the olive oil. <br /><br />This might explain why Joe Lilly, a 32-year-old Internet marketer in Las Vegas, added 40 pounds after his May 2007 wedding (his wife, Stephanie, put on 10). “I went from spending spare time in the gym trying to impress my lady to spending spare time with my lady and our friends,” he said.<br /><br />The good news is that if the relationship disintegrates people tend to lose weight. As per Professor Argys, divorced men usually revert to their pre-marriage B M I, and divorced women’s B M I’s are actually 2.5 percent lower than when they married.<br />Why? “If you’re single, you have a strong incentive to look good,” said Uri Gneezy, an economics professor at the University of California, who has completed a yet-to-be-published study on the subject. “You’re looking for a good match.”<br />And so the cycle continues. <br />The New York Times</p>
