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Marriage triples risk of obesity in men – but not women, study reveals

Marriage triples the risk of obesity for men, but does not affect women, according to research.

Global obesity rates have more than doubled since 1990, with more than 2.5 billion adults and children classed as being overweight or obese. Worldwide, more than half of adults and a third of children are predicted to be overweight or obese by 2050.

While poor diet, inactivity, genetics, environmental toxins and underlying health conditions are known to increase the risk, scientists at the National Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw, Poland, wanted to study whether other factors were also relevant.

The researchers examined the medical and general health data of 2,405 people with an average age of 50. Statistical analysis was used to ascertain links between increased body weight and age, marital status, mental health and other factors.

The study, presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity in Málaga, Spain, found that married men were 3.2 times more likely to be obese than unmarried men, but there was no increase in obesity risk for married women. Marriage also increased the odds of being overweight by 62% in men and 39% in women.

The findings came after a study conducted in China in 2024 found that male BMI increases for the first five years after marriage, owing to higher calorie intake and less exercise. It found being married was associated with a 5.2% increase in men being overweight and a 2.5% rise in men being obese.

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