Getting married triples the risk of deadly health problem – but only men are affected

Tying the knot triples the risk of obesity, but only for men, scientists say.  

Experts found that while both sexes tended to pile on the pounds after marriage, men appeared to be at greater risk of letting themselves go.

Polish researchers, who analysed health data from almost 2,500 people, found men who settled down had a 3.2 times greater chance of being obese compared to their unmarried counterparts. 

In contrast, no such link was found between marriage and risk of obesity in women. 

According to the authors, a lack of such a finding in women could be due to ‘cultural differences’ in attitudes towards obesity between the sexes. 

When it came to being overweight, married men had a 62 per cent greater chance of being too fat, while married women only had a 39 per cent chance. 

Analysis of the data also showed that every year of increased age made the chance of being obese rise 6 per cent among women, and 4 per cent in men.

Getting older was also linked with a 4 per cent increased risk of being overweight in women and 3 per cent increased chance in men.

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Lead author of the new study Dr Alicja Cicha-Mikolajczyk, from the National Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, wrote:  ‘Age and marital status have undeniable impact on living with overweight or obesity in adulthood regardless of sex.’

Of the 2,405 people included in the analysis, 35 per cent were of a healthy weight, 38 per cent were overweight and 26 per cent were obese. 

The research, which has not been published in full, is due to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Spain in May.

This isn’t the first study linking marriage to increased an chance of obesity in men, but not in women. 

Chinese research last year found husbands started gaining weight in the first five years after marriage due to eating more calories and exercising less. 

Specifically, they found men had an extra 5.2 per cent of being overweight after their wedding day, with obesity rates also increasing by 2.5 per cent. 

Obesity is defined as having a body-mass-index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on your weight in relation to your height, of over 30. 

Meanwhile, a BMI of more than 25 is considered overweight but not obese.

Obesity levels have soared in the UK in recent years, with the latest NHS data showing 64 per cent of adults in England are now overweight or obese, compared to just 53 per cent in the early 90s. 

Being obese is known to raise the risk of a number of deadly health conditions like cancer, stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.