Popular tradition states that when two people start a relationship, it can take up to six months and a few kilos for friends to get them back and enjoy them.
Being in love is precious, but there is no denying the evidence: love makes you fat and, also, the stronger the bond, the more weight it takes.
This has been confirmed by a North American study by the National Center for Information Biotechnology, which conducted an experiment with 169 couples from the United States.
While the happiest were the ones who weighed the most kilos, the most dissatisfied with their partner remained at their ideal weight.
“When the priority is not to seduce the other, because we already have it, we lose interest in appealing,” said Sarah Novak, co-author of the same.
Just married, four kilos more
One of the perverse side effects that is popularly attributed to going through the altar has finally been proven. Couples who marry before their 28th birthday gain between 2.7 and 4 kilos more than singles of the same age in the five years after the wedding. In this way, the newlyweds gain almost 11 kilos, and their husbands 13.6; while those who remain single fatten about 7, and they, about 11.
This is revealed by a study from the University of North Carolina, in the United States, whose researchers believe that singles, when searching for love, have more reasons to try to keep fit. Conversely, married couples may share bad eating habits, and have less time to exercise, according to Penny Gordon-Larsen, study author and nutrition professor.
The reasons couples get fat are: the relaxation period that follows intense infatuation, arguments and pregnancy
The funny thing is that couples who live together, but without papers in between, keep love handles under control better than married ones. In fact, a young man who lives with his partner is fattening the same as another who continues to live in a singles flat.
And a woman who shares hers gains only a kilo and three hundred grams more than another who remains without partner commitments. This phenomenon does not seem to have an easy explanation, since, according to the theory of the study, those who cohabit, like married people, should also share their gastronomic customs or take less time to the gym.
In any case, experts believe that the components of a couple influence each other, as evidenced by the fact that the spouses of those who undergo weight loss programs also lose weight.
That is to say, that with a little effort, getting married can help any type of love commitment lose pounds together, instead of resigning themselves to seeing their love handles grow.
Another study, carried out by the University of Glasgow, ensures that newlyweds gain an average of four kilos during the first year of marriage.
“It’s a cultural problem. Diet ends up being the same, and both encourage each other to eat more and move less. People who move together really must control their weight because becoming obese is bad for self-esteem and ends up damaging their relationships, “explains Catherine Hankey, professor of nutrition.
According to a study carried out by the Spanish Society for the Study of Obesity, when a couple forms they can gain more than 4.5 kilos. Fundamentally for three reasons: the relaxation period that follows intense infatuation, arguments and, later, pregnancy.
Couples who marry before their 28th birthday gain between 2.7 and 4 kilos more than singles of the same age
Regarding the first, 73% of those surveyed consider that controlling weight is very important when looking for a partner; However, this percentage drops to 68% when the relationship is already established, which indicates that “when you are in the middle of a relationship you have much less awareness of how important it is to maintain the ideal weight,” explains Victor Godoy, co -author of the study.
When a relationship is consolidated, snacking in the afternoon or after dinner is much more frequent than when looking for a partner.
In the same way, another of the study’s conclusions is that when you are single or in search of a partner, your social life is much more fluid and continuous than when the relationship is established or when a breakdown occurs.
