"First Comes Love, Then Comes Obesity?"

I lovingly borrowed the title of this blog entry from today's American Dietetic Association Daily News. I couldn't have come up with anything more clever myself...wise people those ADA'ers.

It is wedding season, and yay for marriage!! I am a May 2009 bride and so now... I'm a married old hag myself. Turns out, my life may be over...or at least ending sooner than anticipated now that I'm in a romantic partnership for life.

Published in April 2009 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (ew..) was a study performed on adult obesity in relationships [1]. What the study results revealed is that individuals in relationships with overweight individuals are more likely to become overweight themselves. BMI, thus, is correlated between spouses [2]. Worse yet, one's chances of becoming obese double after just a few short years of matrimony [1]. And if you think you're in the clear for living (in sin - kidding) with your boyfriend/girlfriend, you're wrong. The study showed that those living with their significant others are also at risk for packing on "some excess lbs" [1].

While a woman's risk of weight gain is incremental after year one, men's weight gain spikes only between years one and two of cohabiting [1]. Gee, that sounds fair.

The study looked at dating, cohabiting, and married adult couples. Concordance of outcomes observed included obesity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, screen time by romantic partnerships, and duration of time living with romantic partner. Negative obesity-related behaviors were most predominant in married couples while dating couples not cohabiting were less likely than cohabiting and married couples to become obese [2].

But...I guess I can see where the mistakes begin: wedding night. Forgive the RD...it was a rough job being the bride. You know what they say, be sure to eat. ....Check!

[1] Rochman, Bonnie. First Comes Love, Then Comes Obesity? Time. 2009.
[2] Gordon-Larson, Penny. Entry into Romantic Partnership Associated with Obesity. Obesity. Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. April 9, 2009.