Relationships cause weight gain, says research

Being in love is the most wonderful thing that can happen to someone, but a new survey says that being in a relationship is the main cause for weight gain. 

The survey reveals that a relationship superseded the more traditional reasons for putting on weight such as comfort eating, indulging during holidays or lack of exercise, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The majority of people polled, admitted to gaining up to one stone since being in a relationship, and just under three quarters of those surveyed, believe that their partner has put on up to one stone as well, leading researchers to suggest that the 'Passion Pounds' are sadly not just a myth, with two thirds of the couples surveyed stating that they have put on weight together.   

Izzy Cameron, nutrition and weight management specialist at Diet Chef, who commissioned the research, said: The survey has revealed some very interesting results, and it’s surprising to see how complacent people can be when they are in a relationship!

“It’s widely known that people tend to put on a little bit of weight once they have found love, but what we didn't expect to find was that the weight gain is on average a stone, if not more," added Cameron.

When questioned about the portion size, over half of the women admitted to regularly matching what their male partner eats.

For the majority of these women, this often results in much larger portions than what they would normally eat, especially when compared to eating on their own, indicating that when eating as a couple there is no understanding of the correct size portions for men and women .

With the majority of couples questioned living together, those surveyed have found that their main activities undertaken as a couple, consist of ‘staying in and watching TV’,‘eating in together’ and ‘eating out together’, revealing that food forms an important part of most modern day relationships.