Marriage and divorce induce ‘large’ weight-gains, US study finds

There is an increased risk of gaining weight in the two years after a marriage starts or ends, according to their study conducted across 10,071 people by researchers from Ohio State University.

Newly-married women were at greatest risk of "large" weight gains, the study also finds, and some gains may actually “pose a health risk.”

The study followed people from 1986 to 2008 and monitored changes in body mass index (BMI) - a weight/height ratio measurement - and marital status.

The researchers compared the BMI of people who married or divorced with those who were already married or stayed single.

In women, marriage increased the risk of a small increase in weight (up to a three point increase in BMI) by 33%.

There was a 48% higher risk of large weight gains (more than a three point BMI increase), while newly-divorced women had a 22% increased risk of small weight gain.

Men were 28% more likely to have small increases in weight after marriage, and 21% after divorce.

The report concludes: "All martial transitions act as a weight shock, encouraging small weight gains regardless of the destination marital state."

Lead author, Dmitry Tumin, said: "To some extent, marriages for women promote weight gains that may be large enough to pose a health risk."